Dead Without You
by JadeSeraph
Summary: Everyone has someone they would die for. Harry Potter would have died for any of his friends. But what happens when they ask him to live for them too? PostWar, and a HG love story.
1. Homecoming

_Author's Note: Reviews are always appreciated._

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

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_Chapter One: Homecoming_**

_He wasn't there._

At that moment, Ginny Weasley felt her heart die inside of her. He hadn't said he would be there...but he hadn't said he wouldn't either. She had just assumed he would be standing there, right beside her mother and father, waiting.

_That's what you get for expecting anything from the famous Harry Potter, Ginevra._

She used her own name as if it was an insult. She had to be realistic - the way he'd been when she'd left, the way his letters were short and apathetic, she couldn't expect him to be any different now. She stepped off the train, alone, though not as much as she would have liked. She could feel the eyes on her back. The familiar male eyes she had learned to ignore completely, and her friends' eyes didn't penetrate her sense of hollowness, but they were still there and she still felt surrounded by their owners. Ginny put on a smile for her parents, even though she knew they would see through her eventually. She could only buy herself time as her trunk was loaded into the back of Mr. Weasley's car and her parents drove her back home. She would be able to get away from them there.

_The Burrow is rather empty_, Ginny realized. She was used to having a load of brothers around to make things interesting - certainly Fred and George had been up to the task. But even though she knew there would be a welcome home party in her honor tomorrow (Ron and Hermione had an engagement that night), she wondered if it would ever be the same. It wasn't that she didn't notice her mother fussing over her, or her daddy taking in her trunk for her. No, it was something else. Something was gone. Her childhood had disappeared as fast as if she had banished it with her wand. She was a witch of age now, and there would be no more Hogwarts.

"Ginny...dear?"

"Oh...sorry mum." Ginny quickly snapped back from her thoughts. "What did you say?"

"What happened to that boy, Jared?" Mrs. Weasley's face looked very concerned. Her daughter hadn't said anything since the train station. For someone usually so full of energy, Ginny seemed dead.

"Oh...we broke up...it wasn't going to work." That seemed like ages ago, though it had only been a few short hours since she had turned down her boyfriend Jared Weaver's offer to come stay with him in America for an extended period over the summer. That had led into his break-up with her, after which Ginny had felt oddly relieved. He was a year younger than her, and she didn't want to wait for him to finish school anyway. _Not like you waited for...  
_  
A clock shifted, bringing Ginny back from her thoughts into the real world as it made a loud clicking sound, her hand falling into place at "Home". Her hair flowed as her head shook softly. It certainly didn't feel like home.

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"Go away." A pale hand reached up and swatted at an even whiter owl. The motion earned a hard peck on the wrist. A resigned groan came from below the owl, earning the wrist another hard peck. A few moments later, a groggy voice come from below the arm. "Fine, you win."

Harry Potter, so to speak, rolled off of his mattress, never seeing the moonlight peering through the window. Hedwig stood on the dresser above his sprawled, thin form, preening her feathers as she waited on her master. Harry finally climbed up the side of his dresser and untied the letter, freeing the owl to go on her nighttime hunting. The almost nineteen-year-old boy unfurled the parchment, squinting to read it without his glasses, which lay broken and forgotten on the hard floor beside him.

_Harry, _

Ron and I are going to the Weasley's for lunch tomorrow, and I really wish you would join us. I know you don't want to, but it's really important to the both of us.

Almost as much as it is to Ginny.

Love,  
Hermione

Harry silently cursed. She was the only one who insisted on seeing him regularly, the only person who consistently knew where he was these days.

And apparently she was also the only person who knew how to get to him. He wasn't disillusioned by that last line. She had put it in as a deliberate guilt trip, and it was working. Harry hadn't seen the youngest Weasley in almost a year, and their last parting had been bitter. Ron wouldn't speak to him for days after Ginny had left for Hogwarts, and the rest of the Weasley family had been uncharacteristically distant. He supposed he deserved it, but he didn't want to go back and apologize. He'd caused their family enough trouble already without bringing it all up again.

Another owl dropped in the window, causing Harry's irritation to rise. He recognized this one immediately as Pig. The tiny owl zipped around the room in a few circles before it dropped another piece of parchment on his lap and shooting back out the window. Hermione hadn't even bothered to fold or curl this one.

_I'll drag you there if I have to._

Harry closed his eyes and held his head. Whatever he'd had last night (really the last morning, since he hadn't gone to bed until dawn), it was good. He'd slept for a solid fourteen hours and had a killer hangover as a reminder. His clothes were laid out under his sprawling body, having lost everything but his black underwear, though he had no idea how he'd gotten there. He couldn't even remember what had happened to start his drinking escapade. Oh...wait...that was it. He'd gotten a letter from Professor McGonagall that had washed up too many memories. That particular letter was still in the kitchen, where he'd taken the first firewhiskey. The rest was magic.

The next thing Harry Potter remembered was Hedwig sinking her talons into his shoulder. He was still sprawled on the floor, and very unhappy about being woken up again. He must have passed out again at some point, because the first rays of dawn were peaking through the window. Maybe the headache had been too much for his weakened body to take.

"Stop it! I'm up already!" He cursed under his breath again and waved his arm to get the bird off. The snowy owl hooted softly then flew back up to her cage, presumably to sleep. Harry supposed that had been Hermione's doing too. Harry had a sneaky suspicion that she and Hedwig had a conspiracy against him. His watch, which he had to blindly fumble around for in his dresser, told him it was 6.30am.

_What's Hermione playing at? I don't need THAT long to get ready.  
_  
He briefly considered going back to sleep, but he also had a suspicion Hedwig wouldn't allow it. That owl was becoming more and more like Mrs. Weasley, and for that matter, Hermione, every day.

"Stop hanging around Hermione so much." Harry grumbled as he sat up against the bed he'd fallen off of five hours ago. Hedwig gave a soft hoot of smug satisfaction. How Harry could tell she was smug was beyond him, but he knew it. Maybe he was spending too much time with her in his room.

As it turned out, Hermione was more right than Harry would admit. He took an hour and a half in the shower, nearly drowning himself, then it took him another whole hour just to make himself presentable. It would be the first time he'd seen any of the Weasleys (besides Hermione) in over a month. Even his nights with Hermione were growing farther and farther apart. It used to be twice a week that they'd have dinner together, maybe go see a muggle movie, but now it was lucky if they met twice in two, or even three weeks.

"_Reparo_." Harry repaired his glasses in an instant; his magical ability was as strong as ever, unfortunately. Some days he wished he was a muggle, and others he wasn't conscious or coherent long enough to formulate the thought.

The glasses seemed to complete the look - Harry Potter was The-Boy-Who-Lived again. His hair was longer and sloppier, his skin was pale white, but the green eyes and lightning scar (when his hair was brushed back) were unmistakable. He hadn't read the _Daily Prophet_ in ages, but he could imagine what hero names they were calling him now. Not that it really mattered; Harry Potter was so last year.

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"Do I have to?"

Hermione Granger smiled softly as she applied a light layer of lip gloss to her lower lip. She looked in the mirror, only able to see that fiery orange hair sticking out from under the blankets. She took a moment to bask in warmth before chiding him.

"Ronald Weasley, your sister just graduated Hogwarts. What do you think?" Her tone was playful, but Ron could feel the force behind her words. He threw the blankets back, standing up and squinting around his and Hermione's flat. Without waiting for his eyes adjust to all the lights she had on, he stumbled into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around his lover.

"I look fine like this."

Hermione set her lip gloss down, leaning back into his tall, lanky form and rolling her eyes. If Ron thought something odd about her using lip gloss, he didn't say anything. Even he knew this was going to be an important day. "I better not see you outside in that."

"Only if I need to advertise." He laid a quick kiss on her lips before she could retort. "Is the git going to be there?" He had caught her writing to Harry the previous night and developed a rather irritable mood before she had come to bed and calmed him down.

She sighed. "I hope so."

Ron shook his head. It was no use. She wouldn't give up and leave him be. In Ron's opinion, Harry had made it very clear he didn't want to be bothered.

"Ron, give him time. He's just lost."

He shook his head again. "Time is one thing he's running out of, Hermione."

Hermione bit her lip as Ron retreated to the shower. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Ron was right. It was becoming hard for even her to justify trying anymore. Maybe today would be the day. Maybe today he'd be different. Maybe he'd make an effort.

She'd been telling herself that for the past year.

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Ginny cleared the dishes after brunch, feeling the depression starting to sink its teeth into her again. Hermione said she had asked Harry to come, but he hadn't shown up all through the meal. She shook her head, determined to stay happy, at least until everyone left. Maybe she'd allow herself to cry when she was alone.

"Need some help?" Bill Weasley asked, handing a dish to her.

Ginny shook her head. "I can handle it, thanks."

Bill helped her clear the table anyway, mostly silently. He only spoke as the brother and sister pulled the last glasses off the breakfast table. "What's on your mind, little sis?"

"Nothing...just a little strange, being home again. That's all."

Her brother raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing her, but he knew better than to try to force anything from a Weasley, and Ginny especially. "I'm here if you want to talk about anything."

Ginny paused, as if thinking. "Thanks Bill, I appreciate it. I really do." She smiled the same convincing smile she'd used time and again on one Jared Weaver last year, when he would ask her what was bothering her. She didn't confide in anyone anymore.

Bill still didn't quite believe her, but he made his way ahead of her into the living room, where Ron had told everyone Hermione and he had a surprise.

Ron watched Bill and Ginny come into the room, his nervousness increasing tenfold upon their entrance. It had been a lot easier when it was her family, and there had only been two parents to tell, not the six redheads and a silver haired veela sitting in the audience at the moment. Despite what he'd told Hermione, he wished a certain black-haired friend was listening too, but he couldn't have everything. He was glad that Hermione had offered to talk - he wasn't sure he could have moved his mouth properly.

"Well, as you know, Ron and I have been seeing each other for over two years now." Even the twins seemed to grasp now wasn't the time for joking. The Weasleys knew what was coming, and smiles radiated from their faces. Hermione raised her hand to show off the new addition to her ring finger. "So we've finally..."

A soft knock come on the door, causing Hermione to falter. The whole room was dead silent - not even Pig was present to make a racket. After a few long moments, Mrs. Weasley stood and walked over to the door, gasping as she saw through the window who it was. As she opened the wooden entryway, Harry Potter stood there, his hands in his jeans and looking every bit as scared as the first day they'd met at the train station, long ago.

"Harry dear, it's so good to see you!" She immediately reached out and hugged him tightly, clearly surprising the dark-haired young man, who returned the embrace after the shock wore off.

"Did I come at a bad time?" He hadn't failed to notice the other eight faces in the room staring at him shamelessly.

"No no, come in, please." Mrs. Weasley said quickly, pulling him in and closing the door behind him. "How have you been?"

Harry laughed, though it sounded as if it was coming through a tunnel. "Not terrible...looks like you and the family are doing quite well." He gestured toward the living room, where the Weasleys and Hermione were just starting to rise to come over.

"Hey Harry." Ron said awkwardly. He hadn't seen his best mate in over a month...and the last time had only been a quick visit. Ron held out his hand, which Harry shook.

"Hey Ron." Harry looked desperately for something to say without sounding like an idiot, which was easier said than done with seven people staring at him. Fleur didn't quite get what was going on - she hadn't been a part of the family when they took Harry in like one of their own.

"Er...I hope I didn't interrupt anything..." His speech fell off as the last of his nerve vanished on the spot. Hermione must have noticed, because she came over and hugged him.

"We've missed you."

Harry looked down, embarrassed and ashamed. He was only now feeling how much he'd missed all of the red hair, splashed with a tinge of brown.

"I've missed you too. All of you." He tried to smile, only coming close to succeeding, but a lot of tension bled out of the room all the same. He was soon surrounded by welcoming arms and even an offer of candy from Fred and George, which he politely declined. Bill had to explain to his wife Fleur that Harry had once been a part of the Weasley family. The veela surmised correctly that it was like the return of a lost son. Some of the Weasleys hadn't even seen Harry since the end of the war.

It wasn't lost on Harry that Ginny had conspicuously disappeared, but he hadn't really expected her to talk to him, well, ever. The only reason Harry had come was Hermione. She had sounded so defeated the last time they visited that he felt it was time to explain to the Weasleys what was going on in his life and why he could never be around. At least, that had been his plan before knocking on the door.

Now that he was here, he knew he couldn't leave them again. They were so open and caring; he couldn't bring himself to cause any more pain than he already had. It was so easy to ignore the pain that he caused in his absence because he wasn't around to see it, but now it was the elephant in the room. They were all happy to see him except Ginny, but then again, Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to see Ginny. It wasn't until Hermione cleared her throat to gather everyone's attention again that Harry realized he had, in fact, interrupted something important. He already knew what she was going to say, though he returned to the living room and listened politely with everyone else. He'd known since Hermione had practically apparated on top of him, scared out of her mind the night Ron popped the question.

"...and well, Ron and I are getting married."

The room exploded with cheers. Harry couldn't help but smile, glad for something happy to cover the shock of his arrival. Ron was furiously red by this point, embarrassed by all the attention and congratulations. After every Weasley and Fleur had hugged both Ron and Hermione, Harry stood and shook his best friend's hand.

"Well done mate. Take care of her, or I'll come jinx you in your sleep."

Ron seized his hand and pulled him into a one-armed embrace. "Just so long as you're around to do it, I'll be happy."

Harry tried to keep the guilt off his face as Hermione came over to hug him again.

"You two are perfect for each other," Harry said softly to her. "Just don't let a book get between you."

She slapped him on the shoulder as Ron sniggered, but she knew what Harry was thinking. He'd had a long talk with her the night she'd nearly crushed him - that was the last time they really spent time together.

"Thanks Harry. You being here means a lot."

She was going to drill that into his head if it was the last thing she did, Harry decided. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, but Hermione rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, everything will be fine."

Harry let her go, refraining from mentioning Ginny. Soon it was just Ron again, like it had been as the train had first left Platform Nine and Three Quarters almost eight years ago.

"How's life been?" Harry asked, mostly to break the ice.

"I feel like a bloody muggle."

Even Harry had to crack a smile at that. "That boring, huh? I guess I should have stuck around. I've always been a lightning rod for trouble." He winced as he said it, a reminder to all of the trouble he'd brought to Ron's family. The deep feelings of guilt refused to leave him.

"That's what happens when you live with Hermione. Routine, work, books. It was nice after...everything...but I'm starting to get restless again."

Harry nodded. Though he'd never admit it, he was experiencing the same type of thing as Ron. "You ever think about playing Quidditch?"

Ron shook his head. "Nope. I'm not good enough. Haven't got any teams looking for an inconsistent keeper."

The final battle with Voldemort had changed them all. Harry would have stared at Ron in disbelief if he'd said that two years ago, but now it was just a sign of his growing maturity.

"You can have one of mine; I have offers from most of the league."

Ron shook his head and laughed. "I don't see why you don't play. You love the game."

Harry sighed. "Quidditch doesn't appeal to me much anymore."

Ron gaped. Certainly his friend hadn't changed that much? "You still follow the league...?" he said, leading Harry to say something that would bring reality back into focus.

"I stopped reading the _Prophet_ after they published that series of 'Where is he now?' articles."

Ron grimaced. "Yeah, they hassled Hermione and I to no end about that. You were lucky we had no idea where you were, or we'd have told them just to get them off our backs."

"Good thing you didn't...they would have had a field day with me.

Ron raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but said nothing. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear about the year Harry took off from life.

"I thought Ginny would be here," Harry mused, changing the subject. It wasn't really a question.

"She was. I think she disappeared when you knocked on the door." Ron gave him a helpless look. Harry nodded in understanding - it wasn't hard for him to imagine how hard it would have been for her to see him. Harry didn't have any illusions about Ron either. He probably didn't want Harry within 100 feet of his sister anymore.

Ron must have seen the glazed over look in his eyes, because he stood and found his way over to his bride-to-be, wrapping her in a warm embrace from behind as she spoke to Mrs. Weasley of the wedding.

"So how's it feel to be the most powerful wizard in the world, Mr. Potter?" One of the twins waggled his eyebrows at Harry, he couldn't tell which. A fake smile accompanied his reply.

"Not much different, really. Unless you want to call me Lord Potter."

The twins sniggered at that. "Still got the sense of humor, I see." Both of them seemed to be exceedingly well dressed - something Harry had grown to expect of the best pranksters on the planet. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had to be the deepest gold mine in Britain.

"The shop is going well, I take it?"

"Splendid." Fred beamed.

"Absolutely spiffing." George chimed.

"All thanks to Lord Potter." The twins said together, bowing to him.

Harry could have done without that, shaking his head in slight embarrassment. "Don't mention it, you two did all the work."

Fred - Harry thought he could make out the difference now - clapped him on the back. "Now now, no modesty from our financial backers. You know we couldn't have done it without you."

Harry wondered if that was Fred and George's way of speaking about the family without having to come out with it. Either way, he smiled, slightly, but it was genuine.

"Thanks Fred. Let me know if you need anymore, Gringotts is only a bit of Floo away." He winked as Fred and George burst out laughing again.

"Will do mate." George clapped him on the back again before shuffling off to make some more food disappear, taking Fred with him.

Harry sat in silence, thinking about what the twins had said. It was true - he couldn't ignore what he had done for the Weasley's. He'd saved Ginny, Ron, and Arthur from death on three separate occasions, and he'd given the twins a thousand galleons to start their business up on. He knew Mrs. Weasley saw him as another son, but he couldn't bring himself to face all of the pain he'd brought upon them. Half of the trouble they'd been in was his fault.

"You belong here, you know." Hermione had her typical _I-told-you-so_ look on.

"Is that why you asked me to come? You know how I feel when I'm around them." _And you_, he didn't add.

Hermione sighed, sliding next to him on the couch in the Burrow's living room. "Harry, you don't see how much happier they are around you. Whenever anyone mentions you, it's like a dementor walked into the room. And..." she paused, breathing softly as she looked up at him. "...I want my brother back."

Harry made a mental note to get her back for that. She'd hit way below the belt, and hit hurt more than almost anything she could have said. "Hermione..." His voice was almost desperate, but he couldn't find anything to say.

"It's funny how you face death without blinking, but when it comes to people, you can't even accept their kindness and happiness that you're here."

Harry winced as she spoke. Hermione had a nasty habit of telling him the truths about himself that he didn't want to hear, and this was one of them.

"Don't even say they're happier without you. I've seen them. Ron especially, I live with him. I can't even mention you anymore. He gets all defensive and depressed." She didn't mention the times Ron had vented anger about Harry to her; that was something Ron could tell Harry if he wanted.

"I don't see how - they would have been so much safer without me."

She poked his side, hard. "So would I, but I never left you or even thought of it."

_Why does she always have to be right?_ Harry had chosen to ignore her loyalty over the past year, to say it didn't matter. She'd never faltered, never let him get too far away, and never lost faith. He had noticed it, but never let himself accept it until now, when she was smearing it all over his nose. Maybe if he had known how painful it was to have hope in him, to constantly think that he'd come back, and to see no change at all he would have come around faster. Her smile penetrated into him, and he knew there was no way he could take it away from her.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" Harry gave her an accusing stare.

She smiled. "I had some idea. You love us as much as we love you, Harry, and I'm not going to let you forget that."

He didn't know how to respond. "Th-Thank you. I just..." he trailed off, but Hermione's brown eyes fixed on him, waiting. "...I feel too guilty to just come back and be happy-"

"Harry." Hermione cut him off. "You've suffered enough in your life. I know you feel like you should be punished, but don't do it to yourself. Your entire life has been about pain - you need to break the cycle."

He wondered briefly if she'd learned all this in a book. He might have said something, but Ron cut into his thoughts.

"Hey Potter, hands off my fiancée." Ron grinned at him from behind the couch.

Harry felt Hermione snuggle into him, which, although very confusing as to why she did, turned out to be what he needed to break the tension that Ron's comment had caused within himself.

"Can't blame a bloke for being lonely, can you?" Harry raised his eyebrows as if to challenge him.

"From what I hear, you can go be lonely with any witch in England."

Harry flushed a light pink. He tried to think, glancing at Hermione for help.

"He got you Harry," she said sympathetically. Ron grinned, walking away. Hermione sat up, taking one last look at her best friend. "Come on, let's go join everyone outside."

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"Harry was here earlier." Molly Weasley commented, after the house had become quiet again.

"I know," Ginny mumbled. Her mind was on that particular piece of information, but she didn't want to talk about it, especially with her mother. In fact, she was trying desperately to forget about anything to do with Harry Potter. Their few weeks together haunted her, constantly ripping her heart into a thousand pieces. She couldn't stop thinking about how those weeks had made her eight times happier than any part of her two years with Jared. But she knew she had to stop thinking about it. It was just like is used to be - the great Harry Potter would never be with a Weasley. Whatever he had felt for her in the last weeks of her fifth year, it wasn't what she felt for him.

"Ginny...are you okay?" Her mother looked at her with concern. She knew her daughter well enough to know the girl was deep in thought, and fighting with herself about something.

"Yeah. I'm fine Mum." She stood and walked back up the stairs, retreating to her room. She had thought she could keep her emotions in check enough to be in front of her family, she couldn't.

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Harry knew the bar well. He knew most of the bars in London well. He had been to most of them in the past year, and had been the one to suggest this particular place when Ron had mentioned the idea of a guys' night out. It was one of the nicer bars that Harry had frequented - Harry didn't want to drag a perfectly fine citizen into a slum - but it wasn't so nice as to feel fake. Regardless of how much Ron protested to the contrary, Hermione had made her lover into a respectable Englishman during the years of their relationship. Harry had noticed the change in him even before the war ended, but there was something to be said for dimly lit, slightly shifty places. They had their own sort of charm.

Harry was wondering when he would catch sight of his friend's characteristic splash of red when Ron grabbed a stool next to him.

"Can I buy you a drink or three?" It didn't slip beyond Harry's notice that he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. He probably couldn't do things of this sort when Hermione was constantly around.

"I don't drink in the company of muggles anymore," Harry almost whispered. It wouldn't do to have someone overhear him talking of muggles.

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Was that why you went nutters and nearly hexed half of London?"

Harry grimaced. Ron could have put it more lightly, but that was so Ron to put it that way. About a month after Ginny left on the train for her final year at Hogwarts, Harry had found himself in a filthy bar drinking past the point where he couldn't stand up anymore. He'd been trying to drown away...something. Even he couldn't remember what it was anymore. He'd started having hallucinations, seeing Death Eaters, dementors, and werewolves all around him. It had taken quite a few Aurors to even subdue him, and an entire Muggle city block had to be obliviated to keep the wizarding world a secret. The only reason he hadn't been punished was his name and Arthur Weasley had called in some favors. He'd made the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ the next morning, and _Witch Weekly_ still made quips about "pulling a Potter." He didn't know this of course - Harry was about as interested in the media as he was in kissing a dementor.

"Something like that."

Ron must have seen him stiffen, because he quickly changed the subject. "So what do you think of Hermione and I?"

Harry shrugged. "I've known you two were meant for each other. Ever since the Yule Ball in fourth year, I've known it."

"I guess you knew better than I did. I didn't know we'd ever get together until she said yes after I asked her."

Harry nodded. "Seems odd, really. You're complete opposites, but completely, obscenely in love."

Ron ignored his jab at their public affection. "I think Hermione explained it to me best. We may be different in how we show it, but we're both very passionate people and bring out the fire in each other."

Harry snorted. That sounded like it had come straight from Hermione's mouth all right. "You could have let me know on that one, mate. I wouldn't have pulled my hair out trying to get you two talking to each other again."

Ron's face rearranged into a sheepish expression. "We still row like that, you know. Making up is just a little more-"

"I don't want to know." Harry held up a hand. "I'm not so out of touch to not know what's happening between you and Hermione, even in your bedroom."

Ron looked at him questioningly and slightly alarmed. "What has she told you?"

Harry shook his head. "It's not what you think. It's just how she looks when she thinks of you. She can spend an entire half hour talking about you, and I don't even say a word."

Ron couldn't help but flush with embarrassment. "Does she really?"

Harry nodded. "Once upon a time I was able to read her emotions like the back of my hand." He sighed. "Not anymore."

Ron shifted uncomfortably. "Did you ever...er...fancy her?"

Harry hesitated a moment, then decided Ron deserved the truth. "I thought I did, but I found out after a while I was just jealous of you."

Whatever Ron had been expecting, it wasn't that. "You...jealous of me?"

Harry nodded. "You had someone who, if you hadn't been to thick to notice, had deep feelings for you. That's the one thing I never had."

The silence that followed was chilled. They both were thinking about the same thing - what he'd had with Ginny. Ron's pointed stare told him exactly what he was thinking - Ginny had felt that way about him, but he'd thrown it away. Harry wanted to tell him how he wanted to go back to her, how he was wrong for ever shutting her out, but he couldn't. Ron was her brother, and Harry didn't feel comfortable talking about how he'd hurt her. Or about the curt letters he'd sent back to her long, warm, loving ones.

"So...you think the Cannons have a shot at the Cup this year?" Ron asked with an artificially cheerful tone.

"Not a chance. They haven't even been in the running for decades. I think the Wasps have a better shot this year."

Ron scowled. Harry knew the Chudley Cannons were his favorite Quidditch team, but he couldn't bring himself to smile. The weight of Ginny was still crushing his heart.

"I think you need to start reading the sports section of the _Prophet_ again," Ron said irritably, but his mood seemed to drop into one of seriousness. "Anyway, what I really wanted to talk to you about is..." He hesitated, making Harry wonder if he was going to like what he was about to hear, "...do you want to be my best man at the wedding?"

That caught Harry off guard. He hadn't really thought about the wedding since Hermione had told him of their engagement, but he realized that if Ron hadn't asked him, he would have been deeply hurt.

"Of course I do, mate." Harry replied quietly.

"Well...I just thought...you know..."

Harry waved him off. "Let's put that behind us." There was a dark look in his eyes, and if Hermione had been there, she would have called him out on it. But that was what Harry liked about Ron sometimes - he was not quite as sharp at picking up human emotion.

"Nothing like a good drink to help you forget, mate." Ron grinned as Harry took it.

_Amen to that._

After all, Ron wouldn't let him do anything stupid.


	2. Regret & Remorse

**_Chapter Two: Regret & Remorse_**

"Hermione, _please_ keep your voice down, it hurts," Ron whimpered the next morning.

"It's your own fault, Ronald." She'd been scolding him ever since he'd moaned softly next to her in bed, waking and asking for a hangover potion.

"Shhhhh...you'll wake Harry." That was Ron's last ditch effort to stop the noise, and it worked. She lowered her voice to a whisper as she fell back on the bed.

"Harry's here?"

Ron nodded slowly, taking a moment to force himself to remember what happened. It came back in splotches, first the slight drunkenness, in which Harry was saying something about a Stag Night, then the more deep intoxication, in which Harry and Ron had talked rather conspicuously about bludgers and quaffles, then Ron finally having enough sense to drag Harry away when he started going on about Death Eaters. He hoped the rest of the bar just assumed they were a pair of drunken idiots.

"After...well...you know...I didn't think it was good for him to be alone." Ron mumbled. Hermione somehow understood him. She stood up again, looking down at her fiancé with slight irritation. Ron didn't even ask where she was going; he was three seconds from passing out again. Hermione slipped off to the bathroom and tapped the medicine cabinet with her wand. When she opened it, tens of vials stood in their racks, some bubbling, some green, some even a nasty purple. The cabinet itself seemed to be about five times too large for its outward appearance, but the brown-haired witch seemed to think it was completely normal.

She took one of the larger vials from its place and closed the cabinet, walking through the flat to the kitchen. An unconscious Harry came into view as she pulled two glasses out of the cabinet. He was passed out on the couch - no, her couch - as the sun filtered through the window above him. Hermione smiled as she reflected on how normal this particular morning seemed. Harry and Ron had done something stupid together the night before, and here she was, bailing them out with a potion or a quick fix.

The water, to which she added the potion, turned an evil looking yellow. Hermione wondered what it tasted like - from the few times she'd made it for Ron, he'd nearly hurled when he drank it. She also wondered how bad he must feel to actually be asking for it. Not that she'd ever know - Hermione would never drink anything beyond one glass of wine in her life.

Harry stirred on the couch, causing Hermione to freeze for a moment. She thought she had woken him, but as she came over to the couch, he seemed to still be asleep. She scribbled a note for him to drink the potion, leaving one of the glasses on the table and taking the other to her fiancé and holding the cool glass against his cheek. He mumbled something unintelligible before letting her pour it into his mouth for him. He shuddered violently, but still somehow managed to force it down. As Hermione set the glass on her bedside table and wrapped herself around him, she wondered if Harry would really stick around. She loved Ron more than anything, but he had the emotional visibility of a bat.

--------------------

Harry woke sometime near noon, judging by the light coming in the window behind him. His head was pounding, and he could barely move. In the brief moment he opened his eyes, he saw the glass sitting on the table in front of him.

_I love you Hermione._ He didn't need to read the note to know what it was - he'd had plenty of hangovers in the past year. The taste didn't even get to him anymore; it was just a very unpleasant bump on his way to relief.

A few minutes later, he was able to sit up and rub his eyes. He remembered almost nothing of the night before; he had been drinking quite heavier than Ron. He was lucky Hermione's potion making skills were superior to his own - the potion she'd given him was quite stronger than he remembered.

The flat that he was in seemed quite nice - apparently Hermione was well paid for her work at the Department of Mysteries. Ron's job at the Department of Magical Games and Sports surely didn't pay this well.

"You're up." Hermione's voice came from in front of him, in the kitchen. Harry had to find his glasses and put them on before she could come into focus. He'd almost gotten up to go see her when she brought two plates of sandwiches to him, followed by two floating cups of tea. He had to admire her charm work.

"Ron came in pretty messed up last night...I can only assume you were the same." She hid her smile behind her cup.

Harry shook his head. "I wouldn't remember."

Hermione set her glass down on the table with a soft _clink._ "According to Ron, it was about two in the morning. He said something about you not needing to be alone, and said that you were going on about a Death Eater stealing your wand and calling him foul names."

Harry took a bite of sandwich, giving himself time to think. "I'm sorry about that...I didn't mean to drink anything, but Ron talked me into it."

She smirked. "It's quite all right, Harry. I'm just happy to see you two together again."

She'd become quite the lady in the year after the war. She'd certainly gone back a bit to her muggle upbringing, in any case. Harry wondered if this was what Ron had been talking about the morning before at the Weasleys'.

"I don't know Hermione. Last night was great, but I haven't been around anyone much since Remus died." Harry paused, obviously troubled by the memory. Hermione wasn't untouched either. "I don't want to come back and expect everything to be the same. I don't want it to be."

"It won't be, Harry. It will be better. There will be no dark cloud in the future, we won't all be afraid of finding the Dark Mark over the Burrow..."

He attempted to smile, but Hermione saw right through him with a pointed gaze. "I feel like they should be angry with me, and I keep wondering when it will pop up. I don't want last year to be a forbidden subject."

Hermione took a moment before she spoke. She often did before speaking to him, because she trusted him with her deepest emotions, her darkest secrets, and she didn't want anything to come out wrong.

"Harry, I am upset at you for disappearing. For a while, I was lost and I didn't know what to do. I was used to you always being there, someone that I could run to when things got really bad. I didn't know what to do. I knew I was angry, but I understood why you left. Why you hid from all of us. I don't know if anyone else did, but they at least accepted it. You've had a life that no one else can even begin to understand."

_That's not exactly true..._Harry thought bitterly. There had been one person who could understand, but she was lost to him now.

"I just hope that they don't act differently now. I don't want to be treated like I might break at any minute."

Hermione shook her head, knowing he wouldn't like what she knew was true. "I don't think it will be that. I think everyone will just be afraid of you leaving again. Especially Ginny."

Harry's face darkened. That was another nasty habit of hers, always bringing up what he didn't want to talk about. He ignored her comment about Ginny. "I guess I deserve it until I prove they can trust me again."

"Harry, I know everything will be okay." Her voice was sympathetic. "Ron, Ginny, and Mr. Weasley all owe you their life. They'll not easily forget that."

He groaned. "I don't want to be accepted back because-"

"-and they all love you."

Annoyance crept into Harry's voice and expression. "I know that Hermione, I just don't know why! They should have moved on by now!"

She moved from her chair to the sofa beside him. "You need to stop being a hero Harry. Let other people do some of the work. I know you lived most of your life with a terrible burden, but it's gone now. You can be normal."

And that's where she was wrong. Harry didn't care how dead Voldemort was, or how quiet the Death Eaters were. He would never be normal, not with everything he'd been through. He curled up into the side of the couch, away from her arms. The bedroom door creaked open and provided a convenient distraction as a half-dressed Ron wandered into the common room.

"Why is it I always find you and my girlfriend on the same couch?" Ron asked jokingly. Hermione sent him a basilisk's glare, causing the redhead to freeze on the spot, but the damage was done. Harry stood, mumbled something that resembled a thank you, then passed Ron on his way out. Ron turned to Hermione, stunned.

"Oh Ron, _why_ did you have to do that?!" Hermione was nearly in tears.

"What did I do?!" For once, Ron was absolutely certain he hadn't done a thing to make her upset. Hermione brushed by him, sniffing as she slid back under the blankets on her bed, hiding and leaving Ron completely baffled.

------------------------------

"Ginny, dear, are you going to come down for lunch?" Molly Weasley called up the stairs. Ginny considered going, but she knew she didn't want to endure the barrage of questions that her mother (and brothers, if they were there) would rain upon her. They didn't understand that she just didn't want to talk to anyone.

"No, I'm not hungry," she called back down the stairs, then shut her door. She hadn't slept well last night. Since Harry had shown up, she hadn't been able to go without thinking about him for five minutes. He'd looked worn and tired. She had seen that he could, in fact, get even thinner and more pale than he had been when she first saw him before his first year at Hogwarts, and his hair was even less tame than she remembered. While he'd been there, she had hovered out of sight, catching bits and pieces of his conversations. She knew she was being extremely childish about the whole thing, but she couldn't help it. Ginny felt like she was eleven all over again, running up the stairs at the mere sight of his emerald green eyes.

"Ginny...I brought up some food for you." Her mother tapped on the door lightly, rousing her from her thoughts. Ginny waved her wand, unlocking the door. Mrs. Weasley came in and set down a tray beside her bed, looking over her daughter to make sure she was okay.

"You should just go talk to him."

Ginny sighed. "Is it that obvious mum?"

"I'm afraid so. He noticed you disappeared the moment he walked in the door. I know he wants to see you."

Ginny didn't argue. She'd heard him say something to Ron, as well as his acceptance that she didn't want to see him. He didn't know she had wanted to run into his arms, hold him tightly, and tell him she would always love him, but he hadn't seemed that disappointed by her absence. The last thing she wanted to do was turn his life upside down again just when he seemed to be recovering.

"I don't have anything to say to him. He left me and never came back."

Mrs. Weasley took a long breath. "He doesn't know what to say to you either, Ginny. If you had ran away from him for two years, do you think you would be in any hurry to see him?"

Ginny was silent for a while, not wanting to admit her mother made sense. "I never would have left him in the first place," she replied indignantly.

Molly had never understood Harry's decision either, but the best she could do was try to get them back together. She knew all of her sons wouldn't like the idea, but they didn't know how Ginny was around him. They never paid enough attention to their sister unless they thought she needed a knight in shining armor. The six brothers didn't know how Harry made her a different person, more calm, more peaceful, and most of all, happier with herself. All they knew was how badly Harry had hurt her, and as much as they liked him as a person, none of the Weasley boys would let him touch Ginny again.

"Just think about it, I know you'll do the right thing." Her implication was clear.

Ginny ate silently, but her mind had come to an unsaid conclusion. She couldn't do the right thing. Nothing would ever be right without him.

------------------------------

Somehow, Harry made it back to 12 Grimmauld Place without breaking anything though accidental magic. He wasn't really angry, well, not at Ron or Hermione. He was angry at himself for ever going back there, for ever showing his face around his friends. They were fine without him - Ron was right, whether he meant it or not. Harry couldn't just go back and start taking back things that were his before. He'd lost the right to them when he'd left. Hermione was Ron's now; she couldn't be the sister that Harry had always seen her as. He couldn't take back the Weasleys' hospitality - not after he'd thrown it up in their face.

This was true especially for Ginny. The thought of her hit him full force in the stomach. After all she'd done for him, after the way she'd helped him come back from the dead, after she'd been the light in the darkness of insanity, Harry had slammed the door in her face. It didn't matter if she could forgive him; Harry would never be able to forgive himself. He would never be able to look into those beautiful brown eyes and trust himself ever again.

Sometime during his emotional breakdown, Harry swallowed a sleeping potion to force himself back to sleep. His body didn't want to, but Harry couldn't wait for alcohol to get into his system for relief. He had to get away.

The dreams were mortifying. Harry moaned and fell of the bed, never waking for a moment. It was like being tortured - he was in the middle of a nightmare, his mind running at full speed, but the potion forced his body to lie dormant. He dreamed of many things, dementors being the most common with their life-sucking presence. After what seemed like ages of fighting, people around him dying, and those he loved suffering, Harry was once again face to face with Voldemort. He'd had this dream countless times before, but something was...different. He was bound by magic, wandless, and helpless. He laid eyes on a small, whimpering form and his heart ripped open. He knew that body, that brilliant orange hair.

_Ginny!_

Harry tried to call out to her, but a high, cold laugh pierced the silence. Harry had just enough time to see Ginny turn to him, mouthing _I would have died for you, _before a flash of green light blinded him and his forehead split open in pain. He awoke with a start and a scream, instantly glad he lived alone. No one heard him scream Ginny's name, no one could hear the terror in his voice, no one could see him sweating and shaking violently. The-Boy-Who-Lived was only able to curl up in a ball, trying without success to get release in the form of tears.

_Why the hell did I do that?! _Harry chastised himself. It was sometime in the night, though he had no idea how long he'd been immobilized with crushing fear and despair. This wasn't the first time Harry had taken a sleeping potion after waking up for a full night's sleep, and all of them had led to the same result. But the other times he hadn't seen Ginny. He hadn't had to watch her die.

Harry rose from his bed, feeling completely disoriented. His mind was exhausted, while his body seemed to be full of energy and ready to go. His thinking seemed to be clouded with a fog he couldn't penetrate. Harry quickly realized he couldn't focus on anything, and he couldn't make even the simplest connection in his head. He got a glass of water, downing it to soothe his aching throat, then collapsed back on the bed. It would be a while before he was able to go anywhere.

------------------------------

"Ron?"

Hermione felt the bed next to her, but as expected, he wasn't there. She whimpered softly, needing him by her side. He had probably gone to the Burrow, which was what he usually did when they had a row. It hadn't exactly been a fight, but she knew he wouldn't want to be around her at the moment. She'd cracked under the pressure of helping Harry, and Ron had taken the heat. She knew she'd have to apologize, but she needed someone to hang on to until she could pull herself back together. Once again, Hermione longed to know where Harry lived, but he wouldn't let her near his place. That had always bothered her. She didn't care where it was, she just wanted to be able to go to him at times like this. He used to be her refuge when things broke down, but ever since he'd disappeared, she'd had to bottle up her emotions. She saw the strain it put on Ron to have to deal with her when she was being emotional - it spoke volumes about his feelings for her that he did it - but she didn't want to anymore. She loved him too much to keep putting him in those situations.

_Well, you used to be able to handle it, before Harry and Ron._ Even as the thought passed, she knew she was being stupid. She had much more to deal with now as an adult with a great many more relationships and a job than she had at eleven, alone, and just starting Hogwarts.

With a noise of distress into her pillow, Hermione forced herself to rise and glance at a clock. A half-hour had passed since Harry had left. Hermione looked down, noticing her clothes were wrinkled. She sighed and picked up her wand off the dresser. After performing a straightening charm that even Gilderoy Lockheart would have been proud of, she disapparated to the Burrow.

"Hermione! We were just wondering when you'd be around." Molly Weasley hugged her almost daughter-in-law the moment she walked into the house.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley. Is Ron here?"

The elder woman gave her a knowing glance. "He's out on his broom at the moment...I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Hermione visibly faltered at the news. She looked up at ther second mother, her expression guilt-ridden. "Mrs. Weasley...I think I've gone and snapped at him when I shouldn't have."

Molly chuckled, throwing Hermione's brain into confusion. "Dear, don't beat yourself over it. Ron has a much hotter head than you ever will. I'm sure he'll understand. He's been in the same spot many more times than you have."

Surprisingly, Hermione felt a lot better after Molly's words. Indeed, she had been on the receiving end of many Ron Weasley anger bouts, and she'd forgiven him every time. She just never thought she'd be on the other side.

"Where's Ginny? I need to talk to her."

The smile on Molly's face flickered. "She's in her room. She hasn't been out all day, and I'm starting to worry."

Hermione smiled reassuringly, returning the favor. "I'm sure she'll be all right. I'll go see if I can get her to talk to me. It's probably just one of those stupid girl things." It wasn't lost on Hermione that she was currently having one of those 'stupid girl things' with Ron, but she chose to ignore it.

As soon as she was up the stairs, Hermione tapped her knuckles softly against Ginny's door. "Ginny?"

"Go away."

Hermione's eyebrows creased. Molly hadn't told her Ginny wasn't letting anyone _in _either.

"Ginny, it's Hermione. Please let me in. I need to talk to you about something."

There was a silence, as if even sound itself was contemplating the situation. The door suddenly clicked, bringing the image of Ginny on the other side with her wand to Hermione's mind.

Ginny was laid out on her bed, wand dropped and forgotten on the floor beside her. Hermione moved to sit next to her on the bed, getting no reaction from the redhead.

Ginny's hair was all over the place, as if she'd purposefully spread it as much as possible. Her head was turned away from Hermione and toward the wall, and her hair blocked any view of her face. She remained motionless until Hermione attempted to put a comforting hand on her lower leg, which she promptly wiggled out of.

"Your mum says you've been in here all day." It was only two in the afternoon, but for the normally energetic Ginny, it might as well have been nighttime.

"You didn't come here to talk about that."

Hermione could see Ginny wasn't going to give her anything. Sometimes she wished the youngest Weasley would be more open to her. It seemed she always carried more than her share of stress around, and right now it seemed to be getting the best of her.

"I've just come from a talk with Harry." She didn't think Ginny needed to know how the conversation had ended; that would completely ruin Hermione's purpose in coming. When the redhead gave no acknowledgement, she continued.

"He misses you. A lot." That was reading between the lines a bit, but it had been as obvious as if he'd straight out told her.

"Really." Ginny didn't sound one bit convinced.

"He's afraid to come back. He can't face what he's done to you."

At first, Hermione thought Ginny wouldn't respond. When she did, her voice was cold and angry. "Well, maybe he should have thought of that before he left."

"Ginny, he was on his way back from death! How can you expect him to think properly?"

"So he wasn't able to 'think properly' for almost a year now?" She gestured curtly at a very thin pile of parchment lying on the floor next to her school trunk. Hermione bent over to pick them up, but then hesitated.

"Do you mind if I read them?"

"I don't care."

Hermione knew all too well she did care. Not about her reading the letters, but about Harry in general. Ginny sounded a lot like Hermione herself did her sixth year at Hogwarts when Ron had been snogging Lavender Brown in the Gryffindor common room on a nightly basis. The parchment Hermione picked up turned out to be letters from Harry she'd gotten while still in school. She took a while to read through them, noticing the frequency of replies grew farther and farther apart as the year wore on, and there was less and less in each message.

"What did you write him in your letters?"

Ginny shook her head, her hair smearing into her face. "It isn't important. I don't think he would have cared if I'd never sent anything at all."

"He talks about you a lot when we have dinner together."

"Hermione, you're a terrible liar." Ginny didn't seem upset at her though. Quite the contrary, it was almost as if she'd expected it.

"He still cares a lot about you, regardless of what you want to believe."

Ginny said nothing. She was truly devoted to keeping this inside of her, and she couldn't let Hermione know how much her words hit her. The Weasleys all knew Harry and Hermione had bonded in a way Harry and Ron never could; they had been two only children lost in a world that wasn't their own - they might as well have been brother and sister. Which was why Hermione's words hurt so much. Ginny knew her friend wouldn't lie about something like this, but yet, she also couldn't be wrong. Harry must feel something for her - if only friendship - and that made life exceedingly difficult.

Hermione must have interpreted her silence as final, because she spoke again. "Why don't you come down and get something to eat?" She'd noticed the barely touched food on Ginny's bedside table.

Ginny shook her head. "Not hungry."

Hermione bit her lip, like she did when a homework problem left her at a dead end. "Well, if you see Ron, tell him I'm not mad at him and that I want to talk to him." She hoped this would elicit a response from Ginny, but the Weasley girl remained silent. Hermione left her to wander outside, searching the skies for her lover.

------------------------------

The evening dusk was fast dying, and Ron still hadn't come back. Hermione looked one last time for him, sighing softly to herself. She'd been at the Burrow all day, but the place seemed empty. Arthur Weasley was working late again, and Ginny still hadn't come out of her room. She decided that it was no use waiting for him here - she would catch him when he came home. He usually didn't sleep at the Burrow whenever they had a row...they always seemed to make up before going to bed. Hermione hoped that was the case tonight, because guilt might have killed her by the morning.

"I'm going to head off to home Mrs. Weasley. Thanks for letting me stay over."

Molly came in from the garden, which she was degnoming in the boys' absence. "All right dear. You take care, I'll be sure to send Ron home if he shows back up here."

"Thank you." Hermione disapparated with a pop, arriving at her and Ron's flat a moment later. A quick check told her it was empty, and that Pig had no mail for them. Only Crookshanks seemed to notice her arrival; the cat wound through her legs and brushed his soft fur against her calves. She bent down to pet him absently, wondering where Ron could be. It was lonely here without him. Hermione supposed that she would have eaten something just to occupy her time, but Mrs. Weasley had insisted upon feeding her throughout the day, so much so that Hermione was sure she wouldn't have to eat for a week.

The scholar side of her kicked in, and she sought solace in a book. She'd been able to block out life for eleven years before she came to Hogwarts by keeping her nose in a book, and she didn't see why she couldn't now. The words on the page never changed, they never got angry at you, and they never ran away when you got angry at them. Hermione had once thought that books were the perfect spouse, but after meeting Ron, she discovered she'd been entirely wrong.

Crookshanks snuggled next to her in her favorite armchair, sharing her lap with a thick tome that kept fading in and out of Hermione's vision. It was open and there were words on the page, but she couldn't seem to concentrate on them. She was thinking of Ron, worrying about him, praying for him to come home. Somewhere, she knew she was being ridiculous, but that didn't stop her from thinking about how she would feel if she'd seen him for the last time. Surely there was no one out there that would want to hurt her fiancé...right?

The time ticked slowly away as she waited up for him, her heart becoming heavier every minute. She was nearly nodding off when the front door opened and shut, jolting her awake and causing her to slam the book shut. Crookshanks jumped out of her lap in alarm; it was a good thing too, because she bolted into Ron's arms almost even before he realized she was there.

"Oh Ron, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I promise-"

His hand slipped into her hair, running through it as he interrupted her. "It's okay Hermione, I forgive you." His mother had suggested that line, but there was no reason for her to know that.

"I was waiting up for you, I didn't think you'd come home." She was nearly in tears, though Ron couldn't figure out why. He didn't even look like he'd been in trouble. The only thing he'd done was flown to the beach and spent the afternoon alone, thinking.

"I'm all right Hermione, I promise. You don't think I'm that easy to get rid of, do you?"

She hit her forehead against his chest, mercifully able to hold her tears. "You git...you knew I'd be worried about you." His backhanded and spontaneous humor found its place inside of her, creating a warm, fuzzy feeling and was helping to banish the worry and anxiety.

"I confess to nothing." Ron said, though he really didn't know she was going to be this worried about him.

"Sure you don't." Hermione rolled her eyes up at him. From that point Ron knew she was okay...that was just so Hermione. He pushed into her, her back coming against a wall as a mischievous smile ran across his lips.

"Ron!" Hermione growled, but fell silent as his lips came into contact with hers, his body pushing her up against the wall. They spent a long minute holding and playing with each other before Hermione pushed lightly against his chest.

"You're not going to get away with this Ronald. You can't just come back from leaving me all alone forever and expect me to fall right back into your bed." To her credit, she almost sounded serious.

"Oh, I can't, can I? What if I hadn't come back and you never ever got the chance to snog me ever again? Hmmm?" He pulled her off the wall, pushing her toward their bedroom door. Hermione's face warped into shock.

"Ron! That's not fair!"

"You started it." He kissed her neck as he pushed her against their door frame, his hands gripping tightly on her sides.

"Ron..." She had to pause as a rush of hot breath escaped her. _Damn him. _He knew exactly where to touch her, where to kiss her to drive her mad. She could feel herself start to become very aroused at his gentle force, and even more so at how he could instantly drive away any negative feelings from within her. She gave him only a small fight as he pushed her into their bedroom, his hand leaving her side only to turn off the lights and push her down onto the bed.

------------------------------

_Five in the morning is too bloody early to get up, _Harry thought. He rose anyway, repairing his glasses yet again on the way to the shower. He wasn't sure why he did, because today would be another people-free day. He would shower, throw on some muggle clothes, and settle down with a book on the Dark Arts. Even he wasn't sure why he spent most of his days studying the Dark Arts - he had no desire to hunt down dark wizards, become an Auror, or anything of the kind. Hermione, if she had known, would have said it was all he knew how to do. Harry would have countered with Quidditch.

But then what did that stack of invitations to tryouts get him? He'd been invited to nearly every major Quidditch squad in England, and some outside the country. Somehow, Harry knew it wasn't his calling, that he was too calm and down to earth for that lifestyle.

Just then, Hedwig came soaring in the window, dropping a letter on Harry's bed before perching herself on the window frame. Harry's suspicions were confirmed by the tight, neat handwriting on the outside of the parchment - his owl spent at least part of her time with Hermione. Maybe Hedwig missed her. After all, she'd been a constant figure in the owl's life since Hermione and Harry had been inseparable.

_Harry,_

_I've told Hedwig not to wake you, but I thought you might be up. I just want to talk to someone, and Ron is still having his beauty sleep. I'll be outside of Ron and I's flat taking a stroll if you would like to join me._

_Love,  
__Hermione_

"Do you ever get tired of carrying her mail too?" Harry snapped at his owl irritably. The owl gave an indignant hoot. Of course she didn't. She took pride in being the fastest and most reliable owl in Britain, but Harry never gave her any mail to deliver.

Harry dressed silently, fuming. Hermione knew full well he wouldn't ignore her, just like he knew she wanted to talk to him, not just someone. She would go off about the day before, about how Ron was only joking, how he couldn't just leave again, and Harry didn't feel like dealing with it right now. Regardless, she had asked him to come, and he shrugged into a black cloak to go meet her. With a dirty glance at Hedwig, Harry disapparated with a loud _crack._

"Oh!" Hermione nearly screamed when Harry _popped_ in behind her as she was locking the door.

"Really, I'm not going to hurt you." His voice was dry and sarcastic.

"Harry, don't do this," Hermione pleaded. "I don't want to give up this hope of you being a part of my life again." She turned and started walking, ignoring the scowl on his face and forcing him to follow. When she put it that way, Harry felt like a criminal.

"You don't know how painful it is to me to watch you torture yourself like this, to deny what's right in front of your face. We want you back, all of us, but you have some stupid martyr complex in your head."

Harry said nothing. He figured he'd let Hermione vent all she wanted before he stepped in.

"I was over at the Burrow, and you know what? Ginny is so hurt by how you are toward her that she won't even come out of her room!"

_Typical Hermione,_ Harry thought. Get straight to the point, hit as hard as you can as fast as you can. He almost retorted, but he held himself in check. Hermione couldn't know how much her words stung.

"Did you know she kept all of your letters? I read them, and honestly, I don't know why she did. Some of them are absolutely horrid excuses for mail."

Shock kept Harry from replying to that. He had no idea she would keep his letters. He had assumed that she chucked them into the fire or something after reading them. He still had all of hers, of course, but that was only natural. Some of them were works of art all in themselves.

"You know she still loves you, right?" Hermione had wanted to say _in love,_ but she couldn't honestly tell him that. She wasn't inside Ginny's feelings.

"What does it matter? I'll never go back to her. Even if I did, she would never trust me completely. She deserves someone she can trust."

Hermione wanted to strangle him on the spot. "How much would you give for her?"

Harry looked appalled at the question. "I would give my life for her. You know that."

"Funny, I don't see you making an effort," Hermione snapped. "She's miserable and you won't do a thing about it?"

"Who says I can make her happy?"

"_This._" Hermione held out a picture. Harry gasped as if he'd just been hit with a sledgehammer in the gut.

"_Where did you get this?!_" There were daggers in his fierce emerald eyes. Hermione had gone too far this time. The picture was one of Harry and Ginny out on the Hogwarts grounds, shortly before Dumbledore's funeral. Ginny had her arms wrapped around his neck, and she was smiling and nuzzling his nose with hers. The photograph hardly moved - the couple seemed to be content in each others' arms. Finally Ginny looked at the real Harry, smiled even brighter, and waved.

"Colin Creevey. He was nice enough to send me an extra copy when he sent one to Ginny. Who, by the way, still has this same picture in her room." The idea had actually come from seeing the picture in Ginny's chest, still unpacked from Hogwarts.

Harry seriously wondered if she was trying to hurt him. If she was, she was making a clean job of it. He'd only been able to hold down the pain and anguish of Ginny with alcohol and sleeping potions, but that wasn't available now, and it wouldn't have helped with Hermione rubbing salt on the wounds.

"I need to go." He moved to disapparate, but Hermione threw herself around him.

"You're not going anywhere without me."

Harry fought down the urge to throw her off him. He growled violently instead, but she didn't flinch. He started walking again, forcing her to pull away and walk with him.

"Harry, I care about you too much to let you live like this anymore. I thought you had finally come around when you came to the Burrow for brunch and went out with Ron, but I guess I was wrong."

Harry faltered, suddenly unable to continue walking. He stared down at the ground, the hood of his cloak throwing a shadow across his face.

"Harry?"

He didn't answer - he couldn't. All the pain he'd suppressed and never dealt with over the past year came flooding back in a tidal wave of images. He knelt on the pathway, too dizzy to stand. His nightmare about Ginny was always present - she'd been the force Hermione used to break the dam. His body shuddered as Hermione hurried to his side, though he barely noticed. Images of his past came back to haunt him, images of his friends being happy, of laughing with him, of smiling at something he'd said, the way Ginny lit up like a Christmas tree whenever she looked at him. These images hit him at lightning speed, causing a building pain inside of him, threatening to explode at every moment.

How long he knelt there, or why Hermione didn't run for help, Harry couldn't say. He thought he remembered whispering to her that he was okay, but that could have also been his imagination.

Dawn was well on its way when Harry finally blinked and realized he wasn't seeing another painful image. As always, Hermione was crouched over him with concern etched into her fiery features.

"Harry?"

It took him a while to decide she was talking to him, and even longer to formulate a response.

"I'm so sorry..." He attached himself to her as if she was a magnet, crying openly into her shoulder, repeating his words over and over. She tried to soothe him, to tell him it was all right, but he didn't seem to hear her over his own weeping. She placed a maternal hand on the back of his head, falling silent and letting him have his release. Nothing changed for a full twenty minutes, in which Harry told her everything he'd done wrong to her, how he would never live up to what she thought he was, how he didn't deserve her as a friend. Hermione softly told him he was wrong whenever he brought up things like that, but he still didn't seem to hear her. Finally, Harry took a loud sniff and pulled back to whip his eyes on his cloak.

"I'm so sorry to do this to you Hermione."

She shook her head silently. "I would do anything if it gave my brother a chance to be happy."

Harry nearly broke down again, but he was able to contain the tears as he spoke. "Hermione...don't tell me that...it hurts. I can't take things I don't deserve, and I know I haven't been your brother for a while now."

She put a hand on his cheek, smiling in spite of everything. He'd finally acknowledged his place in her life. "Oh, Harry. When will you learn to just accept that our relationship comes with no strings attached?"

He wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that, but it sounded good. "I don't know how to ever start apologizing. I know what I've done is unforgivable."

Hermione shook him gently by the shoulders. "It isn't unforgivable Harry. I've already forgiven you. I know you weren't trying to hurt me, you were just lost." She echoed the words she'd said to Ron not two mornings ago.

He seemed to think on that for a moment, but he shook his head anyway. "You were the only one stupid enough to not give up on me. I'll bet that you're also the only one who _will _forgive me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Then why did Ron ask you to be his best man?"

She had a point and there was nothing Harry could do about it, but he still wouldn't admit he was wrong. "Not everyone will."

Hermione read his mind. "Everyone, including Ginny, will. I promise."

"Ginny won't. We might be able to be around each other, but we'll never be friends again. Not after what I did to her. She has no reason to ever want to see me again. Whatever you felt, I know she feels it ten times worse. I'm not going to try to force her to go through it."

"But-"

"No." Harry wouldn't hear it. This was the first time his voice had any composure behind it since he broke down.

Hermione looked very unhappy, but she didn't want to push him too hard. "Why don't you come over and tell Ron the same things you told me?"

Harry's face told her that was the wrong thing to say. "This stays completely between us Hermione. I mean it. It goes no where, not even to Ron." The last thing he wanted was Hermione spewing his emotions all over the place. Maybe he felt like he could let her completely in, and show her how much pain and anguish he felt, but he couldn't do that with anyone else. Well, not since he broke up with Ginny.

Hermione didn't like being told she couldn't tell her husband (well, almost husband) something, but the mortified look on her best friend's face was enough to keep her quiet about it.

"All right then. You can just come over and apologize, and I'll prove that he'll forgive you and forget about the whole thing in five minutes."

Even now some of Harry's initial anger at her for suggesting he lay himself bare for everyone had deflated. He never stayed mad at anyone for long. He took a long breath before looking up at Hermione.

"Let's go."

The pair walked back to Ron and Hermione's flat, talking about anything but Harry. Mostly Hermione talked about the wedding. Her nerves were starting to get the better of her now that the shock and euphoria of the engagement was wearing off. She and Ron hadn't decided whether to have a magical or muggle wedding yet. Hermione's parents would feel out of place at a wedding that none of their friends could attend, but at the same time, Hermione wasn't a muggle anymore. She had become a part of the wizarding world, and nothing would ever change that.

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**_A/N:_** _This will definitely be an H/G fic...despite what the next chapters might hold. So don't lose faith if I make it a bit hard on them - after Harry's hero complex got in the way after HBP, they can't magically be together. No pun intended. xP_

_Also, I am American, so if my British-isms are a little off, feel free to correct me. I guess I should get it Brit-picked before posting, but I haven't any British friends, so there ya go._


	3. An Irresistible Request

_**Chapter Three: An Irresistible Request**_

Harry didn't feel much like sleeping when he and Hermione arrived back at her flat. Hermione went straight to bed in hopes of catching a few hours before Ron woke up, but Harry wondered into the mini-library Hermione had constructed out of a second bedroom. She had some truly rare books - collecting must have become a hobby for her. He pulled a book off one of the shelves, examining it before putting it back. A smile crept across his face as he came to a very small section of Quidditch books - Ron's contribution to the bookcases. Harry had no doubt Hermione had read them too; she couldn't stand to be in the same county with a book she hadn't read.

Harry finally decided on _Art of the Dark_, an ancient looking book with no author. Praying Hermione wouldn't keep a cursed book in her home library, he made his way back out to the sitting room and got comfortable.

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"Hermione isn't rubbing off on you, is she?" Ron grinned, causing Harry to look up and catch him walking into the room, looking sleepy.

"No, this is just a bit of light reading." The likeness to what Hermione would say was not lost on them. "Couldn't sleep after I came in."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "When did you get here?"

"Sometime after dawn." Harry blinked, realizing he hadn't seen a clock in what seemed like hours. "What time is it anyway?"

"Almost eleven." Ron answered, grabbing a pastry from the pantry. "Why'd you come over here instead of going home? Not that I'm complaining," he added hastily.

"Hermione said it would be a good idea." He didn't know how to answer the question without launching into a dreadful apology. Luckily, Ron didn't seem too concerned with his evasion.

"She was out with you last night?" He sounded confused.

Harry shook his head. "No, we only met at five this morning. She asked me to come take a walk with her."

Ron nodded, opening his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it. "So what do you do with your life these days? Hermione and I took a few days off to celebrate our engagement, but we should be at work." He looked pleased with the idea of skipping work, especially with Hermione.

"Not much, really." Vague was best here, Harry decided. Unemployed alcoholic with a penchant for sleeping potions didn't sound good to anyone, even your best friend. "I sleep a lot," He added as an afterthought.

Ron nodded again, though he would have done so no matter what Harry had told him. He'd heard enough from Hermione to know that he'd done nothing of worth.

"How'd you get the _Prophet_ off your back? They haven't ran a story about you in ages." He sat down across from Harry, gesturing toward the table between them, on which rested a very nice wizarding chess set. Harry remembered it; he'd helped Hermione pick it out for Ron's last birthday. "Have a game of chess?"

The chess pieces seemed to perk up at the thought, with Ron's king turning and bowing at his owner. Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair, as if stressed.

"I suppose." He moved first, as his pieces were white. "Nobody wants to hear about the real Harry Potter. People don't want to hear about the months I spent in recovery from the Cruciatus Curse. They want to hear even less about how I can't even deal with my own head."

"They can't blame you though, can they?" Ron made his move, his brow creased in concentration.

"But they can, Ron. I'm Harry Potter, hero of everyone, God of Magic. I'm invincible."

"You're only human, Harry." Hermione's voice came from the door leading to the master bedroom, where she was leaning against the door frame in her nightclothes.

"I hadn't noticed," Harry said darkly as one of Ron's knights beat one of his pawns into submission. Hermione sighed, disappearing back into the bedroom.

"You really shouldn't do that, you know. She doesn't take it well."

Harry didn't allow himself to say anything - the last thing he wanted to do right now was row with Ron. He didn't know had irritated him all of a sudden, but he couldn't afford to take it out on Ron. Maybe it was mention of the Daily Prophet. The paper had never been nice to him, especially in his fifth year, when it attempted to pin him and Dumbledore as raving lunatics lying about the return of Voldemort.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." He'd had meant it about Hermione, but after it came out, he knew it was about something much more than that.

Ron raised his eyebrows, appraising his returned best mate. "What for?"

"Not being around the last year, hurting you and your family, disappearing like that. I shouldn't have done it."

Ron made a move, keeping his expression neutral. "It takes a lot of courage to come back and say that."

Harry wasn't sure if that had good implications or not. Hermione walked past them into the kitchen, dressed in something more decent.

"I guess the hat put me in the right house, then."

Ron smiled thinly, though Harry could tell his attention was on the board. He didn't dare look up either; Hermione was sure to have a smug look about her. The two men squared off silently, each making two moves before Hermione came to sit next to Ron with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"It's not a game of life and death, you know," she observed amusedly.

"Maybe not for you, m'lady," Ron's king shouted up at her. Harry and Hermione grinned, but it took Ron a few moments to crack a smile.

"Checkmate."

Harry groaned as his king tossed his crown onto the board. Hermione laid her head on Ron's shoulder, looking very content.

"You boys going to want lunch any time soon?"

Ron's stomach growled on cue, drawing a funny look from Harry. "You just had breakfast, how can you be hungry?"

The redhead laughed. "That was a pastry, not breakfast." Hermione sighed, shaking her head against his shoulder.

"You better be glad you're making money to support your eating habits."

Ron laid back on the couch, ignoring her comment. His mind was more on what Harry had said - he'd shunted it to the side of his awareness while playing the game. Of course he was willing to put the whole thing behind him, but it was something completely different to consciously let go of his anger. Hermione had made him admit he was angry at Harry; that was when she'd finally stopped talking about their friend in front of him.

"What?" Ron noticed Harry was giving him another funny look.

"Nothing...I'm just not used to seeing you think. It's weird."

Hermione had to choke back a laugh as Ron scowled grumpily and looked at her. "Don't encourage him."

Harry stood and asked where the washroom was, then followed Hermione's direction out of the room. The young woman turned back to her fiancé, looking very happy about something.

"This is so wonderful."

Ron didn't need to ask what she was talking about. "He apologized earlier. I didn't know what to say."

"I don't think it matters, Ron. I think it's more about his own guilt than getting your forgiveness. He knows you'll forgive him in time."

Ron was silent for a moment. He didn't like dealing with any part of the situation, but it was best to get it out of the way. "I don't know if it will ever be the same. I can't just forget that he's run away from all of us for a year."

Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head into his lap. "He doesn't think it will be either. He just wants the opportunity to earn our trust back."

Ron didn't ask how she knew that. He'd learned during their years at Hogwarts, and especially the two years afterward, that Hermione was the closest thing Harry had to a confidant.

"Do you trust him?"

She hesitated before answering, which Ron took as a bad sign. "I do, but I'm terrified of letting him hurt me again." She didn't mention that she needed Harry and didn't really have a choice. She knew Ron would follow in whatever feeling she had, and she didn't want to make this any harder on Harry than she had to.

"All right then." Ron said, closing the issue. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing else to say. Harry came back into the room, but he didn't sit.

"I'm going to head off - I have some things to take care of." Hermione raised her eyebrow, but didn't say anything as Harry shook Ron's hand. "Thank you both - I'm sure you'll see me again sometime soon."

Hermione rose to hug him and whisper in his ear. "Keep tomorrow clear, you're coming over to the Burrow for lunch and dinner."

Harry didn't argue; it was best not to with Hermione on these things. "I will. Thank you again...I couldn't do it without you."

She smiled knowingly as they pulled apart and Harry stepped out of the door and disapparated.

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It was a while before Hermione Granger found the right time to bring up Harry Potter to the Weasley clan again. She finally found it after dinner, when Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and herself were in the kitchen cleaning while Ron, Mr. Weasley, and the twins were examining a new joke product in the backyard.

"Mrs. Weasley, do you think it would be all right if Harry joined us tomorrow?" The Weasleys typically reserved Sundays to spend together as a family, something that had been inspired by all the times they were separated during the war. Charlie usually couldn't make it, but Bill and Fleur usually did, and Fred and George sometimes brought girlfriends home. (None of these lasted very long; the twins weren't so keen on settling down.)

The elder Weasley woman looked as though Christmas had come early. "Of course, dear! You know Harry is always welcome here."

Ginny looked as though she didn't agree, but she didn't say anything. Hermione watched her reaction closer than Molly's; it was the only real reason she'd asked instead of just inviting Harry and having him show up.

"You both know Harry is going to be Ron's best man?" Hermione inquired.

Molly beamed, happy that her children were finally working things out. Ginny merely nodded, though her eyes betrayed her bitter shock. She'd known forever that she was to be the maid of honor - Hermione had been very quietly preparing for the wedding since the war ended - but she'd always assumed Bill or Charlie would be the best man. _How can Ron ask him, after how he's treated us?_ She quickly put a lid on her emotions.

"Have you decided what kind of wedding you two want?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "We haven't really talked about it. I need to talk to my parents before we decide, but I know I want a small wizarding ceremony. I just hope my parents agree."

Molly's expression turned serious. "You know wizard marriages require an Unbreakable Vow, right?" She was concerned Hermione had missed that, being muggle-born and all, but the younger witch nodded. After watching Bill and Fleur's wedding, she'd done volumes of reading on the subject. Most of the ceremony was familiar to her - Muggle and Wizarding weddings weren't that much different - but she had been shocked when the bride and groom had made an Unbreakable Vow to each other. After two years with Ron though, she could see herself making the same commitment, and even wanting to.

"Mrs. Weasley, I can think of nothing better than being with your son for the rest of my life."

The elder woman teared up almost instantly, reaching for Hermione and giving her an almost suffocating embrace. "I know you'll make a wonderful wife for Ron, and you're already a wonderful daughter."

Ginny had a slightly different reaction. She fled from the room, hoping the other two witches would think she was angry and they didn't see the tears that now ran down her cheeks. She'd been an emotional mess as of late, constantly waiting for something to push her over the edge. Hermione had finally done it with her display of love for Ron. She was happy for them, she really was, but why could they work out when she and Harry didn't? Did Harry see it as a weakness to be attached?

That was it, Ginny decided as she slammed her door shut. He didn't want to have a weakness, like when he dumped her two years ago in the face of Voldemort. He'd sacrificed his heart for the ability to kill the Dark Lord. Already her pain was turning to anger. That had one of the things she loved about him - he understood like no one else how it was to be alone and have to hold pain and anger inside, and how the pain had a way of becoming anger given time. She'd always been the youngest of seven, the first Weasley girl in several generations, forgotten and alone. After her possession by Tom Riddle, she felt even farther apart from the rest of the world, unable to connect.

Yet, she'd always felt an attraction and connection to Harry. It had started with her fascination with his survival story, told to her by her mother when she was little. After she met him, her fascination became an embarrassing schoolgirl crush. Once she got to know him, her crush became a feeling deep inside of her, like a hole waiting to be filled. She'd tried to fill it with other boys - Michael, Dean, and most recently, Jared - but none of them worked. None of them understood how different she felt, how to make her comfortable with being herself. Those few weeks with Harry were heaven - she'd been at peace with herself, and she'd felt special while she was with him. She'd loved him.

Now she'd lost him. Well, more correctly he'd left her, but Ginny couldn't help but think she could have done something different. Maybe if she hadn't let him fight the war without her, he wouldn't be so distant now. Maybe she could have been there for him, instead of being tucked away at Hogwarts like a good girl. Maybe she shouldn't have dated Jared to try to forget about him. None of what she'd done over the past two years was being herself, none of it was right, but she'd done it for him. She'd do anything for Harry.

The pain of his absence crushed her. She fought back, feeling the anger rise within her, wrapping herself in its familiar presence. It didn't help when a soft knock came from the door. Ginny snapped at it.

"What?"

Nothing came for a moment, then Hermione's voice came through the wall, muffled. "Never mind...I'll leave you alone."

Deep down, Ginny knew she should have felt bad, but she didn't. Somehow, it felt good to lash out at Hermione. If she'd thought about it, she would have realized her anger was misplaced - it only felt good because she was jealous of what Hermione had with her brother.

Downstairs, Hermione plopped down on the couch, sighing. She didn't understand what had made Ginny so angry. Her reaction to her conversation with Mrs. Weasley was expected - she didn't think Ginny would be too fond of seeing Harry - but she'd never expected anger. _Was it really that bad that I invited him?_ She shook her head. No, that couldn't be it. The rest of the Weasleys looked happy to see him at the brunch, and Mrs. Weasley was delighted with the idea of him returning for a family day.

Ron came in from outside and fell down next to her, grinning like an idiot. "Fred and George need to let me come work with them. They make more money in a day than I'll make in a year."

Hermione looked torn, apparently missing the humor in his voice in her musings about Ginny. She loved the twins dearly and even found them quite entertaining, but she didn't want them to rub off on her Ron. She liked life how it was, without things jumping at her from closets or other random things happening around her home.

"Aww, come on Hermione, lighten up." Ron finally noticed her scowl. "It's not like I would_ actually_ go work for them."

She took breath of relief. "I'm sorry Ron, I just don't need joke products laying around our home." She was glad for something to distract him from the real reason she was bothered. As thick as Ron was sometimes when it came to emotions, he almost always spotted when something was wrong with her - he just could never pinpoint what it was. Ironically, she loved that about him. He always knew when to comfort her, when to be the sweet, affectionate Ron that no one but she saw, but she didn't have to tell him everything right away. She told him everything eventually, but sometimes it was just easier to work it out herself. He took the opportunity to snuggle into her, and she replied by laying back and letting him crawl on top of her.

"You two get a room." One of the twins noticed Ron burying his nose in her neck. He looked up to reply.

"Sod off...it's not like we're snogging in public."

"Yet," the other twin observed, both of them rolling their eyes. Ron turned back to Hermione and kissed her lips just to spite the twins, then rested his nose in her neck again.

"Ginny?"

Hermione couldn't see the stairs from the sofa, but Arthur's voice alerted her to the youngest Weasley's presence. When she didn't hear a reply, Hermione strained her neck to see a flash of Ginny's petite figure before she heard the sound of feet running back upstairs. It didn't help that Ron took the opportunity of her exposed neck to send a warm shiver through her nerves.

"What's wrong with her?" Ron mumbled into her neck after he finished, through Hermione could tell his attention was elsewhere, probably elsewhere concerning him, her, and a bed.

_I really need to get Harry to talk to her_, Hermione thought as her complex mind began to see the problem. Something about seeing her and Ron together made her think of Harry. That was why she'd reacted so badly in the kitchen - they'd been talking about Harry, then Hermione had claimed her eternal love for Ron.

_She couldn't be_ jealous, _could she?_

Hermione was left to ponder that thought as Ron's rhythmic breathing brought up a warm feeling inside of her. She supposed she should be irritated he fell asleep on top of her, but that was just Ron. It was hard to get mad at him for being the man she loved.

------------------------------

Sometime in the night Pig delivered a note for Harry, but the wizard didn't find it until the next morning. Hermione's handwriting told him he was to be at the Burrow at half past noon, whether he was ready to eat or not. For once Harry smiled at her forcefulness, though he supposed it had something to do with his desire to do what she said even before the letter arrived. He was glad she'd told the Weasleys he was coming - as much as he knew he would be welcome, he also knew he wasn't in the "show up at the back door unannounced" stage yet.

A shower and some magic later, Harry slipped on some casual robes and looked almost the same as he had the last time he visited the Weasleys. He picked up his wand and disapparated to Diagon Alley. He had some time to kill before he was supposed to be at the Burrow.

In retrospect, reintroducing himself tot he wizarding world so abruptly wasn't such a good idea. All he'd wanted was to browse Twillfit and Tatting's for some new robes, and maybe pop into Eeylops' to find a treat for Hedwig, but he was followed by whispers and blatant staring wherever he went. Hermione and the Weasleys were the only witches and wizards who hand seen him in the past year - and most of the public hadn't seen him in two.

Not that it affected him much, but it was still quite annoying. Hogwarts had been worse than this, but it was enough to cut short his visit, leaving out through the Leaky Cauldron with enough time to sit and think on the Underground before apparating to the Burrow a bit early.

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"I hope you don't mind if I'm a little early," Harry said quietly. Arthur Weasley was the first to spot him; the Weasley's father was out working in his shed with some batteries. (The collection was approaching a thousand now)

"No, not at all. Say...perhaps you could explain something to me..." Arthur got that familiar far-off look that appeared whenever he thought about a Muggle invention. "How-"

"Arthur Weasley?" Mrs. Weasley's voice resonated through the yard from the front door. "You're not hassling Harry, are you dear?" How she knew he was there mystified him.

Arthur hesitated, casting a wounded look at Harry. "No Molly, of course not. I'll send him right in." After he was sure his wife was inside, he turned back to Harry. "Perhaps we could sneak out later?"

Harry did his best impression of a smile. "Sure thing Mr. Weasley." He wasn't thrilled with the idea, but perhaps it was a way to ease his return into - well, his mind wanted to say family, but he knew that was next to impossible, so he settled for circle of friends.

Arthur ushered him into the house, muttering something about taking a shower before lunch. Mrs. Weasley was all over Harry in an instant, giving him another vice-gripped hug.

"It's nice to be here too," Harry said sheepishly.

"Bill and Fleur are already in the sitting room, you should go say hello."

Harry barely kept from grimacing. He had no idea what Bill would have to say to him, or for that matter, Fleur. He hoped it was something good as he saw them on the same couch, engaged in light conversation. Fleur noticed him first.

"'Ello, 'Arry. It is nice to see you again," she said. Bill turned and gave him a small smile.

"Hello Fleur, Bill." Harry bowed his head at the couple before finding a seat across from them. "It's nice to see you too. How've you been?"

Fleur tossed her hair, a charming smile coming to her lips. Harry guessed that was the veela in her. "We 'ave been quite well." She beamed at Bill. Her English was much improved, but the accent was still noticable. "'Ow 'ave you been?"

Harry had prepared a response to that question the night before. "Can't complain. Just trying to figure out what to do with myself." His voice was guarded, but she didn't seem to notice.

"I hear from Ron you've gotten a fair number of Quidditch offers?" Bill asked.

Harry nodded. "I don't think I could play though. I'm not really looking for that kind of life. I'm more looking to settle down and do something a little less stressful."

Fleur's eyes flashed. "Does 'Arry Potter 'ave a girlfriend?" She seemed very interested in the idea, but Bill's face stabbed into Harry. He hadn't forgotten about Ginny.

"No, I'm not really looking to date at the moment. There's too many women who would date me just because I'm Harry Potter." He felt a little uncomfortable talking about his own fame, but that feeling was like a Cheering Charm compared to the feeling Ginny brought.

"Zat is too bad. Many women would be lucky to 'ave you."

Harry was saved from having to find a response to that by Ron and Hermione, who walked into the room with their hands intertwined. If either of them were surprised to find Harry sitting in the living room, they didn't show it.

"I thought you weren't going to make it Fleur?" Hermione asked.

"I was supposed to be working today, but I got an - unexpected - day off." She and Bill exchanged a furtive glance. Harry wondered how many favors Bill had to call in to pull that off.

"I'm pleased you could make it." Hermione put on a very convincing fake smile - she'd never been a fan of Fleur's. Harry noticed (with a silent chuckle) that Ron was keeping his eyes as far from the veela as possible.

Fred and George made an entrance too, but they popped one after the other out of the fireplace.

"Not interrupting anything, I hope?"

Everyone shook their heads. The twins seemed rather disappointed they hadn't as they dusted the ash off themselves.

"Fred, George? Is that you?" Molly Weasley's voice came in from the kitchen.

"Yes mother dearest." Fred winked at the people around him. "We're just here to drop off a rather large order of U-No-Poo for Mr. H. Potter."

Mrs. Weasley bustled in from the kitchen. "You better not have brought any of your products into my house!"

George sniggered. "Calm down Mum, we're only joking."

"Honest. We'll swear an Unbreakable Vow." As he said this, George pulled out a wand which, after he said some nonsense words and pressed it on top of his and Fred's linked hand, turned into a rather impressive rubber duck.

"That is nothing to joke about young man!" Mrs. Weasley looked ready to rampage, while the rest of the room looked torn between laughter and escaping a mother's wrath.

"Come on mum, we're only kidding." Fred grinned as he squeaked the duck.

"You two..." The red drained from her face a bit, and everyone relaxed. "I swear I had nothing to do with raising you. Your father can have the blame for that."

Arthur chose that second to walk in, looking somewhat damp. He took a glance around at the gathered group. "Is it safe for me here?"

Everyone laughed to a "Hmpf!" from Mrs. Weasley.

"Lunch is ready, if you boys behave." She moved to the stairs. "Ginny, lunch is ready!"

Harry felt his body freeze at the sound of her name. He'd just been enjoying the normality of the situation, and how everyone just accepted his presence, and he'd forgotten completely about Ginny. That was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to. Luckily, she didn't come down immediately, and Harry was able to find a spot at the table and watch everyone else sit down.

Then she appeared. _Merlin, she looks fantastic_ was Harry's first thought, followed by an unpleasant clenching of his gut. She stepped outside, and the first thing Harry noticed was her hair. It was a brilliant red-orange, no doubt perfectly natural, and it hang softly to just below her shoulder blades - shorter than he remembered. The rest of her seemed to float into place, even though she never slowed in her walk to the table.

"Sorry I'm late, had a little trouble getting out of bed." No one could really say anything to that - they were too shocked by how feminine she looked. Harry realized in a nasty shock the only open seat was next to him, which Ginny took without even glancing in his direction.

"Who are you on a date with?" Ron asked bluntly.

Ginny gave him a nasty look. "Do I need a reason to look good?"

An awkward silence followed, but Ginny didn't seem to notice as she helped herself to some food. Slowly the conversation started up again, with Fred, George, Ron, and Mr. Weasley discussing Quidditch (an ever-popular conversation starter) and Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Fleur talking about the wedding. Ginny turned to Bill, who was on her right, and started a discussion on what she should do now that she was done with Hogwarts. Harry ate in silence - something the Dursley's made sure he was quite good at.

Harry thought he might be lucky enough to get through the meal without a word until Mr. Weasley turned to him. "So Harry, ever think of becoming an Auror?"

It used to be his life ambition, but now he could only shake his head. "No, I've had enough dark wizard hunting for one lifetime at least."

Arthur looked disappointed. "The Ministry could really use you."

Harry nodded, wondering if the Ministry was trying to use the Weasleys to get to him. "I think they can handle things from here. I'm more of a specialist in Dark Lord removal."

Arthur (and Ron, who happened to be listening) laughed. "You know I had to ask. I didn't think you'd want to, but you never refuse the Minister a favor."

Harry nodded in understanding, and was about to reply when he heard Fleur's voice come from the other end of the table. "'Arry! I 'ear you are going to be Ronald's best man!"

He nodded slightly, as if it wasn't something he wanted to talk about at the moment.

"My sister Gabrielle will be at ze wedding too. Perhaps you would like to go together?"

Harry was too shocked by her forwardness to notice Ginny tighten like a rope in the seat next to him. The one time he'd met Miss Gabrielle Delacour, she'd been unconscious and underwater. He hoped she didn't have as big of an ego as her sister.

"I'll have to ask her when I meet her," Harry replied, praying that was a neutral answer. He really wanted to go alone, but in the even he did need a date (Harry knew next to nothing about weddings), he was sure Tonks would be a better alternative. Or Ginny, but he pushed that thought from his head as quickly as possible.

Fleur nodded in acceptance. "I will 'ave to arrange a meeting soon."

Harry turned his gaze back to his plate, using his fork to play with his food.

"Can someone pass the bread?" Hermione asked.

Harry paid little attention as he reached for the bread basket, but something soft and warm surprised him. He quickly pulled back, feeling Ginny's eyes on him for the first time.

"I'm not poisonous, you know," she said, not quite coldly. Everyone else at the table seemed to be having fake conversations to cover their blatant eavesdropping.

"I know." Harry looked even farther down, his eyes on his lap by now. "Sorry." He added.

"Harry-" Her voice was softer, but he never figured out what she was going to say as a loud _Crack!_ issued and Minerva McGonagall appeared behind him.

"Mr. Potter, may I speak with you for a moment? You are very difficult to track down these days." Harry, who'd been completely thrown by her arrival, nodded numbly. He rose, following his old Transfiguration Professor to a more private spot around the side of the house.

"I trust you received my owl earlier this week?"

Harry nodded again, wondering why he deserved a visit from the Headmistress of Hogwarts. It couldn't be good.

"I need a Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor. What do you need to make my problem disappear?"

She'd come about the owl. Harry had been shocked and washed up in memory when her letter arrived earlier that week, asking him to fill the Defence job. He'd had put off thinking about it, hoping the offer would go away if he ignored it. Apparently he was wrong.

A thousand thoughts ran through Harry's head, including the job being cursed. "Professor, I..." He trailed off, but McGonagall didn't even blink as she waited. "I'm not sure I could teach even if I wanted to. And I'm not even sure I want to - I have no idea what I want to do with my life."

"Nonsense, Potter. I daresay you've had plenty of experience instructing a certain Army..." She paused for effect and looked down her nose at him. "I must also say that teaching is somewhat better than what you have been 'doing with your life.'"

It didn't even phase Harry that McGonagall seemed to know where he'd been the last year. Finally, he just bit the bullet.

"I'll take the job on two conditions. One, I want no responsibility other than teaching. It will be hard enough for me to do just that. And two, I want to have the option to leave at the end of the school year."

McGonagall nodded curtly. "That can be arranged. I will be waiting for your owl on what materials the students will require before the last week of the month, and you will be expected to move into the castle two weeks prior to start of term. Is that clear?"

The weight of what he'd just agreed to silenced him, but he nodded.

"Very well. I shall leave you to your lunch."

Harry was left standing in shock after she disapparated. _I'm responsible for teaching hundreds of kids how to defend themselves? Why did I just agree to that?_ The answer was obvious, though one might say Harry Potter is a master of denial. Minerva McGonagall is not a woman you say no to. Harry stumbled back to the table, looking blank and lost as he took his seat.


	4. The Delacour Affair

_**Chapter Four: The Delacour Affair**_

"What's happened?" Everyone at the table was looking at Harry - Mrs. Weasley was the first one to speak.

Harry wondered if he should tell them. It wasn't something he wanted to talk about with everyone, but they would find out eventually and he didn't want to answer uncomfortable questions.

"I-I'm going to be teaching at Hogwarts."

It took a minute for that to sink in. When it did, he got warm congratulations from everyone at the table, possibly amplified by relief. He'd stumbled back to the table like someone had died.

"You'll be filling the Defence Against the Dark Arts position then?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Harry nodded, breathing deeply to help with the stress. "I have a month and a half to get ready to move into the castle."

"Well, you won't have to worry about staying long," Ron quipped. "The job's cursed."

"Ronald!" Hermione and Mrs. Weasley hissed together. That brought a round of laughter from everyone present, including Harry, although he was feeling slightly sick. Luckily, everyone else was done with lunch so he didn't have to sit down to a table full of food. The boys cleared the table while the girls cleared the kitchen, giving Harry's brief conversation with Ginny time to flood back into his consciousness. He shook his head to clear it. He figured it would be a long while before he talked to her again.

------------------------------

"Hermione?" Harry asked, after the lunch table was cleaned up. She looked up from her book as her best friend came to sit next to her. He spoke in a hushed tone. "I need help."

She closed her book and set it on her lap. "With Ginny, I presume?"

Harry flushed red, knowing he might need help with that too, but he would never ask. "Not exactly. I'm scared out of my mind about this teaching thing."

She shook her head. "Don't be. You did wonderful with the D.A. You're the reason I can produce a true Patronus. You're the reason I'm still alive after all these years...you gave me the first real Dark Arts lesson, and the best one." Her eyes glinted with admiration, but that didn't make Harry feel any better.

"That was different Hermione - most of you were in my year, and it wasn't like I had to prepare you for anything. I'm going to be a powerful influence on these kids lives." He shuddered at the thought.

Hermione was impressed with his grasp on the responsibility; he must have been thinking about it before McGonagall showed up. She felt sorry for him - it was obvious he'd been pushed into the job. "You'll have help - I'm sure the other teachers will be happy to get you started."

"Yeah, because I was a student of most of them," Harry muttered under his breath. Hermione laughed.

"Snape won't be there, if that makes you feel any better."

Not really. Snape had been yet another casualty of the war, and Harry had never really come to terms with his loyalty. Yes, he'd killed Dumbledore, but looking back on it, hadn't Dumbledore asked him to do it? There had been strange occurrences where things were much easier than they should have been, and Harry had reason to suspect Snape had a hand in it.

"I guess. What I'd really want is a close friend there to help me plan lessons and everything." He turned his head and eyes to her.

"Harry, I can't always bail you out of your homework," Hermione protested, half exasperatedly, half smiling.

"Why not? Never stopped you before." Harry put on a begging expression worthy of their Hogwarts days.

"Harry..." Hermione groaned, but she was smiling and sighing in the same way she had back in school. "Of course I'll help you."

He hugged her immediately, nearly driving her off the couch. "Thank you so much."

------------------------------

The rest of the afternoon went well, though Ginny was a rare sight. Harry wondered if it was just him she'd been avoiding, or if it was something else. She'd looked amazing, happy even. He blocked out the nagging feeling that something wasn't right with her, that her presence was a mask. Regardless, over the next month Harry slowly became more and more comfortable being a part of the Weasley family again. Hermione helped him get his course materials worked out, even outlining most of the first term's lessons. Ron and Hermione's wedding date was set for August 7, a week before Harry was scheduled to move and between Harry and Ginny's birthdays. All in all, things were looking up for Harry Potter, until one July day a couple weeks before his birthday when he was reminded of something he'd said almost a month before. He had been enjoying a nice conversation with Ron about nothing when Fleur exploded into Ron's bedroom, looking as though Christmas had come early.

"'Arry! I've been looking for you. I want you to meet Gabrielle!"

Ron had to duck away to hide a snigger. Harry tried his best not to look mortified at the thought. "Er - okay. Is she here now?"

Fleur shook her head. "No, she will be arriving soon. She 'ad to travel by floo, and I wanted you to be zair to meet 'er."

Ron, who had reappeared, couldn't resist a snort of laughter. Fleur threw him a deathly glare, so Harry quickly spoke to draw her attention.

"I would love to meet her. Shall we?" He gestured toward the door. Ron burst into another fit of laughter, but Fleur didn't seem to notice the sarcasm. She preceded Harry out of the room, leading him down to the Weasley's fire place to wait with Mrs. Weasley and Ron, who came down after finding a straight face to put on.

"She is late." Fleur said, irritated. Harry didn't seem to think this was a problem - in fact, the less Gabrielle was like her sister, the better. He wondered if she was like Ginny - apparently she'd been talking about him the summer before his sixth year - but that was too painful to think about. He hadn't talked to the youngest redhead since their few words at lunch a month ago; she was never around when he was. They would have to make some sort of contact before the wedding, but Harry was developing an even greater aversion to the idea. She seemed to be perfectly fine without him - when he did see her at meals and around the house, she always looked nothing short of magnificent.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a flash of light from the fireplace. The fire turned green, roaring up to catch something and pull it out of the chimney. Gabrielle Delacour appeared in front of them, producing a loud cough.

He had to admit she was very attractive. Her silvery hair was cut shorter than her sister's, hanging just above her shoulders and complementing her fair, feminine featured face. She looked up to scan the room, her eyelids opening to reveal slate gray eyes that fixed on Harry when she saw him. Realizing he was looking back, she flushed pink and looked away, saved from an awkward moment by her sister.

"Gabrielle!" The elder Delacour hurried over and wrapped the younger in a hug. "I was getting worried. You are late."

Gabrielle hesitated before answering. "I am sorry, I had something to take care of." Her accent was almost unnoticeable - Harry wondered how hard she'd worked on it, and why.

"It's nice to see you again, Gabrielle." Mrs. Weasley seemed oddly formal for greeting her son's sister-in-law.

"Thank you for 'aving me, Missus Weasley." Her accent slipped for a moment, showing her inexperience with it. Fleur turned to Harry, linking her arm in Gabrielle's.

"'Arry, zis is my Gabrielle, my sister. Gabrielle, zis is 'Arry Potter." They'd met briefly, but never spoken to each other. Fleur acted as though it was their first meeting.

Gabrielle blushed again, unable to meet his eyes. "Nice to meet you Harry." She pronounced his name carefully.

"Nice to meet you too." Harry put his hands in his pockets, feeling really awkward. Hermione walked in from the kitchen, holding a plate of cookies. Her timing was perfect enough to make Harry wonder if she'd been watching them.

"Anyone hungry?"

Ron, of course, was all over her in an instant. She had to take the plate away from him, saying something about sharing. When everyone else declined, Ron eyed the plate again.

"Fleur?" Bill's voice came down the stairs, followed quickly by its owner. "We've got to get to work. We'll have to apparate if we want to make it on time."

The veela shuddered. Harry looked at Ron questioningly, who gave him an "I'll tell you later" look. Bill came into the sitting room, looking his wife over.

"Ready?"

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his midsection. Harry almost looked away, but Bill looked at Mrs. Weasley. "Bye Mum. We'll be around sometime tomorrow to pick up Gabrielle." His arms wrapped around Fleur, and the two disappeared with a _pop_.

They left a very lost looking Gabrielle standing in the middle of the Weasley's living room. From the look on her (very pretty, Harry noted) face, she'd never been at the Weasley's without someone she knew well around. Harry felt sorry for her - he'd been in the same situation many times before.

"Gabrielle, dear, I'll show you where you're sleeping." Mrs. Weasley led the silver-haired beauty out of the room. As soon as she was gone, Harry looked over at Ron.

"What just happened?"

Ron laughed. "Fleur is trying to set you up with her sister, mate." He gave Harry a pat on the back, earning a disapproving look from Hermione. "And supposedly Fleur doesn't like apparating. She can't, or so she says." Ron snorted as though he didn't believe any of it.

"Plenty of fully-trained witches don't apparate, Ronald." Hermione scolded.

He rolled his eyes. "And she doesn't like wrapping herself around Bill every chance she gets."

Hermione left the room, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "_Boys._"

------------------------------

Harry didn't see Gabrielle for the next half hour - the girl seemed to have disappeared. Her appearance reminded him of the Triwizard Tournament, and having to ask her to the wedding reminded him of the Yule Ball. If Harry had been honest with himself (which he wasn't), he would have realized he expected to at least be able to go as Ginny's date, but the redhead seemed determined to avoid him. It had almost gotten to the point where he wanted to jump out at her from a closet and force her to talk to him, but he hadn't cracked yet. Fortunately, Gabrielle appeared to distract him from his throughts. It was hard to think when he had something so beautiful to look at.

"Hi." Her voice was quiet, betraying her shyness. It took all of her courage even to talk to him - she'd really wanted to just hide all day and hope that he didn't notice her, but Fleur had insisted so she found him under a tree in the Weasley's backyard.

"Hi." That was all Harry could think to reply.

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

Harry shook his head. "Not at all...though it is a little dirty."

She blushed with embarrassment as she sat next to him, perhaps closer than an ordinary stranger would. Harry was well aware of her shoulder against his. "I'm not exactly like my sister."

Harry thought that was a good thing, but he didn't say so. He didn't want to alienate any of the Delacours. "So how old are you?" She looked a little young for him to be dating.

"Fifteen."

Harry put on his best unsurprised face. He remembered thinking she couldn't be older than eight when he'd freed her during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, but admittedly, he'd been in a hurry and underwater and she looked younger than she was. But still, what was Fleur doing setting him up with someone so young? And _why_ did she make him so nervous? At least he could answer that question, even if he didn't like it. He had little to no experience with girls, and sitting next to him was a stunningly pretty (and part veela, at that) girl under a tree on a nice summer day. Something about her kept reminding him of the Triwizard Tournament, as if he was supposed to do something, but he couldn't place it. At least he remembered what school she would go to.

"Is Beauxbatons a seven-year school like Hogwarts?"

Gabrielle shook her head, causing some of her hair to flutter. It smelled nice to Harry, like flowers. "No, we start a year earlier than your school. We want another year before the OWLs."

Harry didn't realize that OWLs were an international standard. "That makes sense. I could have used another year in Potions," he commented darkly. Not that it would have helped much if Professor Snape had been teaching it.

"I love Potions. It is probably my favorite branch of magic. I want to do research into potion-making after I complete my schooling."

Harry tried without success to keep the distaste out of his expression. "I never got the hang of them - I'd take a wand over a cauldron any day."

Gabrielle turned to him, a smile resting on her lips. That was good at least. "I love the smells the most. There are all the lovely ones, like fresh picked flowers and herbs which I'm most attracted to, but even some of the not-so-pleasant ones have their own appeal." She wrinkled her nose. "Not that I'd want to smell them all the time."

_That's it, _Harry realized. "You like flowers?"

She nodded, an interested look on her face as Harry pulled his wand out of his shirt pocket.

"_Orchideous,_" Harry whispered, and a bouquet of flowers exploded from the end of his wand. He'd have to thank Ollivander for that one. "These are for you."

Gabrielle flushed a brilliant pink, taking the flowers up to her face as if to hide it. "These are lovely, thank you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek, turning him the same pink as she was. Her head dropped to his shoulder, causing him to tense. She didn't seem to notice, and after a moment, Harry was able to relax himself.

"My sister was right - you are really sweet."

Harry couldn't think of a proper response to that. "Thanks." He shifted to make her a little more comfortable, and he couldn't help but wonder if his mother and father had ever been like this under a tree at Hogwarts.

------------------------------

Ginny cried silently in her room. She'd watched the whole scene from her window, from when Gabrielle first approached him to when she'd laid her head on his shoulder. She couldn't tell what was being said, but the flowers and Gabrielle's kiss said it all. Ginny wiped her cheek, feeling like her heart was being ripped out again. She'd seen the way Harry looked at her during meals, the way she'd been able to draw his eyes whenever she walked into a room. She'd thought she had him, and she'd been wrong. Whatever he'd been thinking when he looked at her, it hadn't been what she thought it was. She realized it was probably just her own feelings forcing her to see what wasn't there.

_How could you be so stupid, Ginevra?_

Ginny let out a choked sob, closing the window as she cast a silencing charm on herself. She couldn't watch anymore, and she knew she didn't have any right to be upset. She had avoided him all summer, saying every day that she would talk to him tomorrow. She headed toward the shower, glad that no one was there to see her.

------------------------------

"So why are you staying with the Weasleys?"

Harry had chosen to sit next to Gabrielle at the dinner table, a decision which surprised no one. If he'd noticed, this was the first time Ginny sat at his end of the table, but for once, his mind was on another girl.

"My mother and father are going to be away for the night, and Fleur suggested that I might have more fun here." She didn't mention that Fleur had told her Harry would most likely be there.

Harry helped himself to some salad before replying. "Watching Bill and Fleur snog isn't your idea of fun?"

Gabrielle giggled and wrinkled her nose. Harry decided she looked very cute with that face. "I have had enough of that to last a lifetime."

Harry silently agreed. They enjoyed dinner in a happy silence for a few moments before the silence was broken unexpectedly.

"So what have you been up to the last year, Harry?" Ginny's voice shocked both Harry and half the table. No one had heard a word from her in quite some time.

"Same old thing, really. Preparing for my new job." That was the truth, though he hadn't known it at the time; all those books on the Dark Arts actually would come in handy. Harry shot her a warning look - Gabrielle didn't know anything about the past year, and she wasn't going to find out.

"Oh really? I'm sure you must have been out enjoying yourself a lot, seeing as you weren't working and you weren't around much."

The conversations at the table got quieter as Ginny's voice took on a noticeably false pleasantness. Even Gabrielle seemed to understand Ginny was having a go at Harry, though she couldn't fathom why.

"I was taking a year off to recover from my defeat of Voldemort. Hard work, you know, hunting Dark Lords instead of staying in school." He knew this was rather uncalled for, but Ginny was really getting on his nerves. He put it down as retaliation for a month's worth of the cold shoulder.

Ginny stared, driven speechless by his words. _How DARE he say that?! I would have followed him anywhere!_ The Weasley brothers looked ready to kill Harry save for their mother's watch.

"Maybe you shouldn't have sacrificed your heart to him, and you wouldn't have had to replace it with a rock."

The table held their collective breaths. Harry would have said something, but Gabrielle sitting next to him made him bite his tongue and take a different tack.

"To you it's a rock, but to the _right _girl, it's an emerald." She'd once told him her favorite jewel was an emerald because of his eyes.

It wouldn't have been quieter if they all had died. Ginny stared at him in utter shock, unable to comprehend. Gabrielle shifted uncomfortably, knowing this wasn't a conversation she was meant to hear. Ron, Fred, and George looked ready to burst out of their seats. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked torn, half enraged at Harry for their daughter, half distressed and confused at what would make the man they wanted for their daughter act so rude. Hermione acted first, standing and grabbing Ginny's arm.

"Let's go."

Ginny looked like she was about to say something to Harry, but she couldn't make a sound. She followed Hermione wordlessly inside the house.

Harry looked at the faces around him and stood. "I guess I better be going. Thank you for a wonderful meal Mrs. Weasley." He looked down at Gabrielle and whispered into her ear. "I really had a great time - I'll see you again soon." He disappeared with a loud pop, leaving the rest of the dinner party very disoriented.

------------------------------

"How could he SAY something like that?!" Ginny screamed at no one in particular. Hermione happened to be in the room, so she replied.

"He didn't mean it. You were having a go at him, and he got angry. You-"

"Are you defending him?" Ginny looked furious. Hermione could definitely tell she was Molly Weasley's daughter.

"No, I'm just telling you his reasoning." Privately, Hermione did think Harry was less wrong, but it still didn't excuse what he said.

"Just because little _Gabrielle_ is here, he thinks it's okay to be a jerk to me!"

_Wow, she really doesn't realize how irrational she's being,_ Hermione thought. "You haven't been exactly warm either, Ginny."

"So? He was the one who left me, not the other way around." Ginny was still yelling quite loudly. Hermione put an Impreturbable Charm on the door, afraid of what the other Weasleys and Gabrielle might overhear.

"Why can't you just try to be his friend?"

Ginny stared at her. "Do you think I'm capable of being his _friend_? After what he did to me? He left me and never came back, never even tried to talk to me, after I gave him my permission to leave!" She paused to breathe. "I thought he loved me!"

Hermione was only slightly surprised at the last line. Harry had never once told Ginny he loved her, but it had been plain as day to anyone paying attention.

"He still does," Hermione said quietly.

Ginny looked like she'd caught a second wind of anger. "Then WHY did he spend ALL day with HER?!"

_So that's what this is about,_ Hermione realized. "Because he thinks you've moved on. All you show him is the side of you that doesn't need anyone or anything. He assumes that you're happy now, and he doesn't want to change that."

"I don't want him to think I need him." Ginny sat down on her bed, trying very hard not to break down.

"You don't want him to know how much he's hurt you. You don't want him to know he has that kind of power over you," Hermione said softly.

Ginny didn't respond. It was true, of course, but Hermione couldn't know that. Ginny was just starting to realize how badly she'd messed up, and how wrong she'd handled Harry. She wanted to be angry with him. She wanted for him to feel as empty as he'd left her. It had backfired.

"He doesn't need me anymore, why should I tell him I need him?"

"Because he does need you, Ginny. You haven't been around him. There are times I can't give him what he needs. You can understand and be there for him like no one else can."

Ginny shook her head. "All he needs now is a pretty face to snog."

"Is that what you really think? Do you really think that Gabrielle or any other witch can make him truly happy when he knows what he had with you?"

"Yes."

"Then you're not the Ginny he loved. The Ginny he loved would have redrawn the night sky for him." With that, Hermione left her alone, closing the bedroom door behind her and leaving Ginny to her tears.

------------------------------

Nobody saw or heard from Harry the next day. Fleur seemed to be disappointed when she and Bill picked up Gabrielle - she'd hoped the two would be telling each other goodbye at the last minute. Ron had to fill Bill in on what happened the night before, and Bill agreed that the Weasley brothers would have a talk with Harry when he turned up.

But Harry didn't turn up the next day, or the next. Hermione tried to send him letters, but they never came back with an answer. Finally, on the fourth day after the incident, Hedwig found Hermione with a longish looking letter, though it was addressed to all of the Weasleys.

_Hey,_

_I'm sorry I haven't been in contact. I know what you all are thinking - I'm going to disappear for another year like I did last time. While I would if I thought that was best, I don't think Ron would fancy having to find another best man this late, nor do I think that most of you would be happier if I wasn't around. _(Hermione smiled at this.)

_However, it seems that Ginny and I cannot be in the same room without having a row. I know we'll have to work something out for the wedding, but I think it is best that I stay away from the Burrow to avoid future incidents. Ginny, if you're reading this, I'm sorry it couldn't work out between us. I didn't intend for it to be like this, but you have to deal with what you get. Although I would have wanted to be a part of you life, I understand what I did to you was unforgivable. You looked amazing the few times I saw you this summer, and I hope that continues for the rest of your life._

_Should anyone need to contact me, Pig knows where to find me. I may not always be able to answer right away, but I promise I'll write back as soon as possible. Ron, I'll be in contact to find out if you still want me to be your best man._

_Regards,_

_Harry._

Silence followed Hermione's reading of the letter. Ron, Mrs. Weasley, and herself had been present when the owl arrived, but no one had thought to find Ginny. Ron was definitely having second thoughts about his choice of best man.

"Why does he always have to be this difficult?" he asked, dejectedly.

"Ron, this time it really isn't his fault. I wouldn't want to be here if Ginny treated me like she did him." Hermione hoped that Ginny wasn't eavesdropping. As much as it might do her good to hear it, Hermione didn't want to get the cold shoulder from her.

"What's wrong then? What happened to having to look away because Harry was snogging my sister?"

Hermione shrugged. "They're both too stubborn to talk to each other. Ginny thinks Harry fancies Gabrielle, and Harry thinks Ginny doesn't ever want to see him."

Mrs. Weasley spoke for the first time. "I think Harry does fancy Gabrielle."

Both Ron and Hermione threw nasty looks at her, but neither could contradict her. Hermione broke the ensuing silence.

"I think he's just trying to get past Ginny. Gabrielle will never make him truly happy, but at the same time, she'll never truly hurt him."

Ron stared. "How can you possibly know that?"

"Because he won't let her. He won't even give anyone the chance he gave Ginny. It's partially because of how hurt he is over her, and partially because no one else can understand him. And quite frankly, I agree with him. Ginny is probably the only person on this planet who can understand him completely and make him happy."

Mrs. Weasley nodded, but Ron looked lost. "Hermione's right Ron, and I don't know if you've noticed, but Ginny is the same way about Harry."

No, he hadn't noticed. All he'd seen was Harry being a prick to his little sister. Perhaps she'd deserved it four nights ago, but that didn't explain the last two years. "If this is really true, then why are they hurting each other so much?"

"Because Ron, they both don't want to need the other. Ginny and Harry are both fiery, stubborn, independent people and it would go against everything they know to come crawling back to each other. Why do you think Ginny has taken to looking only her best when Harry is around?"

The situation was slowly starting to become clear in Ron's mind. "So why don't we lock them in a room together and force them to work it out?"

Hermione laughed. "I've considered it, but I don't think we could hold Harry, even if we could somehow get his wand. Ginny would cause so much frustration that he would probably trigger some accidental magic."

A sound came from the stairs, causing the three to look over and spot Ginny walk down to their level. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, as well as having a dementor follow her around at all times. Neither Ron nor Hermione had seen her since the incident; they had been working and hadn't been over to the Burrow.

"Did I hear my name?" Her voice was flat and devoid of life. Ron and Hermione exchanged an uneasy glance as Mrs. Weasley fielded the question.

"Yes dear, Harry sent us a letter I think you should read."

Ginny shrugged. "I don't really want to." She moved in the direction of the kitchen, but her mother's voice stopped her again.

"I didn't ask if you wanted to."

Ginny turned and looked at her mother, surprise on her face, but she didn't argue. She just walked slowly over to Hermione and took the letter. By this point, Ron was getting very worried. His sister read the letter in silence, gave it back to Hermione, then moved toward the kitchen as if there had been no interruption.

"You sure you're alive Ginny?" Ron asked, the concern evident in his voice. He'd never seen his sister like this. Ginny took a moment to ponder his question, then answered.

"Unfortunately."

No one could think of anything to say to that, so she was free to wander into the kitchen. Uneasy glances passed between the three onlookers.

"She told me yesterday she wanted to live here for the rest of her life," Mrs. Weasley said quietly. Silence followed that revelation too - a lot about Ginny Weasley had made given her family reason to be quiet lately.

Ginny hovered back into the room, barely even looking at the three of them. She sipped a glass of milk before plodding back up the stairs, leaving an even more uncomfortable silence in her wake.

"We have to do something about that," Ron said. "She's even making me miserable."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know what to do anymore. I've tried talking to both of them, but they won't talk to each other." There seemed to be no doubt in Hermione's mind that all of this came back to Ginny and Harry's relationship.

Ron appeared to be in deep thought, then he stood and glanced at his mother and fiancée. "Let me have a go at it, and then if that doesn't work, we'll try locking them in the attic."

------------------------------

Hermione had told him the same things many times before, but coming from Ron it was entirely different. Harry expected Hermione to see what he didn't want to and try to force him into talking to Ginny, but he'd never expected it from Ron. Something about what Ron had said seemed more real - Harry never thought he would be encouraged to talk to Ginny by any of her brothers.

It was too late to go talk to her now - Harry wouldn't show up at the Burrow after dark no matter how much Ron said Ginny needed him - so instead he thought about what he could possibly say when he got there. Somehow, apologizing didn't seem like it would get him anywhere. He knew Ginny better than that. He couldn't bring her a gift either - that would just look like he was trying to buy her...friendship?

That was another problem Harry faced. What type of relationship did he want with her? In a perfect world, he would walk in, she would jump into his arms, and they would live happily ever after. But the world was far from perfect, something that kept slapping Harry in the face since he was one year old. He settled for aiming for friendship, or at least being able to talk to each other without all the tension.

Sometime later, Harry tried going over Hermione's lesson plans for him, but nothing could keep Ginny out of his thoughts. He considered taking a sleeping potion, but he'd been alcohol and potion free for over a month, and he didn't want to mess that up. After a few more minutes, he put away the books and parchment and crawled into bed. Sleep did not come easily, and when it did, it was shallow and fitful.

------------------------------

"Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, confused.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley." Harry stepped into the Burrow, nodding at her. She decided not to say anything about his appearance - the sleep he'd lost the night before showed.

"We got your letter...I didn't expect you'd be around."

It had taken a lot of courage even to apparate at the Burrow - after the letter he'd sent, his pride didn't want to let him. But Ron's reply had burned into his memory, and he'd managed to get to the Weasleys' without splinching himself.

"Ron didn't seem to accept that. Something about Ginny looking like an Inferius."

Mrs. Weasley's distaste at the language was evident, but she nodded with understanding. "She hasn't been herself since you left." If Ron's letter was any indication, that was the understatement of the year.

Harry wondered which time she meant, then realized how bad that sounded even in his own head. No one else seemed to be home, but somehow he knew Ginny was there. "Where is she?"

"She hasn't left her room much in the last week," Mrs. Weasley said sadly.

Harry nodded, walking toward the staircase, his nerves starting to wear thin. He'd never done anything like this before - most of what he'd done in his life had been accomplished through luck and brute force - but he knew he had to be gentle and understanding with Ginny. As he forced his feet up the stairs, Harry couldn't help but wish his mother was still alive. She would have known what to do. He was even wishing for Hermione's presence as he knocked softly on Ginny's closed door.

"Come in." Her voice wasn't changed from the day before; if anything, it had become even worse. A protective instinct fired inside of Harry, lit by her voice and the sight of her prone form as he pushed open the door. He didn't say anything for the moment; she didn't seem to notice it was him. The second thing he noticed was the picture on her beside table. Hermione was right - she did keep it. Harry was surprised she hadn't destroyed it by now, knowing her temper.

He stepped farther into her room, his eyes finding her sprawled face down on the bed. He stood next to her, waiting, but she didn't look up. Harry reached down and pulled her hair away from her face, but her eyes were closed. He wondered if she'd been like this to everyone, refusing to acknowledge their presence. When she didn't move, Harry reached down and slid a hand across her side, wrapping it around her hip. She jumped away from his hand immediately, her eyes snapping open.

"Harry?"

Her eyes were bloodshot, her skin pale. She looked like she hadn't eaten in days or even smiled. Something inside Harry blasted him with guilt, knowing this was his fault. Everything he'd meant to say flew out the window - he'd assumed she would be violently angry. It was exactly the opposite - he was met by a broken figure who seemed to give up on everything.

"I'm sorry about what I said...I didn't mean it."

Ginny hesitated, wondering what the right answer was. "I know."

Harry sighed, looking around and deciding to take a leaf out of Hermione's book. He picked up the picture of Ginny and himself, wondering how they could have stayed so far from each other.

"Why did you keep this?"

She laid her head back on the pillow, closing her eyes, thinking. "I don't know. I guess I didn't want to forget how that felt."

Harry had forgotten what it was like to be with her. He'd blocked it out, it was too painful. "Why did you avoid me all summer?"

"The same reason you avoided me the last two years?" She sounded bitter, but not angry. Truth be told, she was tired of being angry. It exhausted her to be constantly angry, to constantly be pushing him away.

"Would it help if I knew I'd done something unforgivable?"

She moved her head slowly from side to side. "You haven't, Harry. I understand exactly why you did what you did, and I understand why you can't be with me now. I'm just the stupid one who can't get over you."

Harry had to take a moment to process that. The giant lies they had convinced themselves were true were staggering. He had to sympathize with Hermione, putting up with what she knew were blatant lies to try to get the two of them to talk to each other.

"Do you really think that I can't be with you?"

"Yes. I'm everything you don't need. I'm unstable, quick-tempered, stubborn, and worst of all, I remind you of Tom. You've been running away from that for the last year. You need someone who won't get angry at you, who won't remind you of the war, who can support you more than I ever will."

Harry stared at her, as though she could feel his gaze. "Ginny, I don't want that. I'm tired of running from my past. I came back to the Burrow to try to face it, to live up to what I've done, but I can't do it without you."

"What do you need me for?" She paused, not wanting to say what she was about to, but knowing she had to get it off her chest. "You could have any witch in the world. You seemed perfect with Gabrielle." The last part she hadn't meant; it had just come out of its own accord.

Harry didn't know how to respond. Gabrielle had made him happy, and he could have dated her, but she wasn't the same as Ginny. Gabrielle had taken his mind off things, given him something to focus on, but she hadn't, and never would, make him at peace with himself. Harry suddenly had an epiphany, and knew exactly what to say.

"Ginny, I can't be with anyone else. Maybe for a year, or even a few years, but I know how it will turn out. There will be something inside of me that she can't get to, and as much as I might want to, I won't be able to be completely with her. You're different. You understand what it's like to be used by Voldemort, to have everyone you love in constant danger, to constantly be treated differently. You can be close to me in a way no one can, not Gabrielle, not even Hermione."

His speech silenced her. She needed time to process his words, to wrap her mind around the fact he couldn't be without her. At least, that's what it sounded like.

"I need you Ginny. I need you to be happy." Harry put into words what he'd been denying for two years, what he'd refused to allow anyone to believe. The simplicity of it surprised him, but now that he'd said it, he knew it was right. Ginny must have too, because she looked straight into his eyes, unafraid.

"I need you too, Harry. I always have and I always will."

Later, the sheer abnormality of the situation would strike Harry, but right now, all he could think of was how close he wanted to be to her. He lay down next to her in bed, her body turning to accept him as they wrapped in and around each other. Harry held her tight, swearing to himself to never let go ever again.


	5. The Wedding

_**Chapter Five: The Wedding**_

"Does someone want to explain this to me?" Ron asked, dumbfounded outside Ginny's bedroom. Harry and Ginny were sound asleep in her bed, tangled impossibly together. Hermione smiled, the gesture driving Ron mad.

"If you wake them, I'll hex you into next week. They're so peaceful. Your mother will wake them soon enough."

Ron looked as though he wanted to wake Harry and hex _him_ into next week, but all he could do is make an annoyed noise. "How can they go from ready to kill each other to sleeping together so fast?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow, as if to remind him of their own relationship. "They're not sleeping together in that sense, Ron." She gave him a reproving look. "After what they've been through, no words would be able to bring them back together. They need this to forgive each other."

Ron didn't get why Harry had to be all over his sister, but he wasn't about to disagree with Hermione. She had a much better handle on this relationship than he did, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

--------------------

"Ginevra Weasley!" Molly's voice could be heard throughout the entire house. Both Ginny and Harry jolted awake, scrambling away from each other as fast as possible. Harry wished he had his invisibility cloak.

"Mum!" Ginny turned a furious red, almost to match her hair. "This isn't what it looks like!"

"Oh it isn't, is it?" Mrs. Weasley glared. "Then do you mind telling me what it _is?_"

Ginny looked away, mumbling something unintelligible. Harry got up the nerve to speak first.

"I've been having problems sleeping, and Ginny was able to help. I fell asleep on top of her." That was true, though not really the reason why they'd fallen asleep together. He thought he saw Mrs. Weasley's expression soften a little, and her voice mercifully came down in volume.

"Don't ever let me catch you in bed with another boy ever again, young lady!" Ginny nodded in compliance. "Now go get yourself clean, we have a guest arriving tonight."

Ginny bounced out of bed, happy to be let off the hook, but she couldn't resist asking about the guest. "Who's going to be staying here?"

"If you hadn't been _sleeping_, you would have heard." Mrs. Weasley replied sharply. Ginny shivered and disappeared to the bathroom. Harry expected to get laid into about sleeping with her daughter, but Molly only gave him a strange glance before he was left alone in Ginny's bedroom.

--------------------

Mrs. Weasley seemed delighted when a knock came at the door. Ginny and Harry had been doing their best to avoid each other's eyes, but embarrassment was a marked improvement over their previous relationship, even though they currently were in separate rooms. Harry knew it wasn't because Ginny was still avoiding him. Mrs. Weasly seemed to greet the woman at the door as if she was an old friend, but Harry hadn't the slightest clue who it was until she spoke.

"Wotcher, Harry." The woman winked.

"Tonks!" Harry hugged the Auror, who was in a orange-haired disguise, no doubt mimicking the Weasley's famous hair. It was strange seeing her - he hadn't since the end of the war, and they'd never really talked about Lupin's death. The werewolf had finally come around to Tonks and let her have a relationship with him, but their romance had lasted six months before being cut short by none other than Bellatrix Lestrange.

"How've you been Harry?"

"Can't complain." He used his stock answer for that. "Yourself?"

"Getting by," she replied, looking over at Ron and Hermione. "Not as happy to see me?" she asked in a playfully hurt tone. Hermione smiled as she followed Harry in hugging the witch.

"It's always good to see you Tonks."

The Auror jerked her head toward Harry. "Might want to tell this one. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's avoiding me."

Harry turned red with embarrassment, but Ginny ran into the room before he could answer.

"Tonks!" The youngest redhead ran and hugged the Auror. Mrs. Weasley smiled - it was nice to see Ginny happy again, even if she was now a little more wary of her and Harry's relationship.

"What's this I hear about you, Hermione, and I having some shopping to do?" Tonks grinned. It took Ginny a moment to get what she was talking about, but finally caught on.

"Yay! I thought we were going to wait until the day before or something."

"Since when have I waited until the last minute to do anything?" Hermione scoffed, drawing a laugh from all present.

"So have you decided what kind of wedding you're having?" Tonks looked over at Hermione and Ron. After a nod from her fiancé, Hermione smiled.

"It's going to be a magical wedding. There's too much magic in my life and I can't just ignore it, but that's not the main reason. I want to take the Vow. I want Ron to know I'm his forever." She grabbed his hand and locked it in hers, smiling at him as his ears turned every shade of red. _That _hadn't been part of their discussion about what kind of wedding they wanted.

The girls seemed to think this was very emotional - Mrs. Weasley even teared up - but Harry couldn't help looking at Ginny. _Will I ever make the same Vow to her?_ When faced with that prospect, he suddenly had a feeling they would be dating a very long time indeed.

--------------------

"How am I supposed to know what to get?" Ron whined for the sixth time. Hermione, Tonks, and Ginny had left them to go shopping for dress robes. Apparently this was a ritual for the women, and the presence of men was utterly unacceptable. Problem was, that left Harry and Ron to shop on their own. Harry felt as helpless as Ron - he knew nothing about weddings beyond watching Bill and Fleur's two summers ago, and even then he had more important things on his mind, like horcruxes.

"Come on Ron, let's just go ask for help." They'd been walking around Hogsmeade for a while now, and Harry's feet were starting to get tired. He dragged a protesting Ron into the nearest clothing shop, which turned out to be a rather nice place from Harry's view. He looked around for a store employee while Ron concocted some plan to tell the girls they hadn't found exactly the right look.

"Maybe we should get Bill to help," Ron suggested. Harry actually thought that was a good idea, if only they'd thought of it a couple hours ago. Harry caught the attention of a man finishing up with another customer and waited for him.

"H-Harry Potter?" The man's eyes did the familiar forehead check. Harry had to keep from getting irritated at the man whose name tag read Marcus.

"Yes. My friend Ron is getting married, and..." The clerk cut him off.

"Ronald Weasley?" He looked as though he was about to faint. "I never thought I'd see such famous people! I mean, we are the best fine dress shop in England, but Harry Potter and Ron Weasley?" The idea seemed to make his wildest dreams come true.

Ron seemed to be enjoying the attention, but it just made Harry irritated. "You can be known as the guy who fit Harry Potter and Ron Weasley their dress robes for a wedding if you hurry."

Ron shot him a nasty look, but the attendant didn't notice. "Yes, of course, might I ask who the bride is?" To his credit, he at least started measuring Harry, though after a while the measuring tape carried on by itself. Ron shifted uncomfortably; he and Hermione hadn't discussed publicity yet. He remembered her demonstration of love when Tonks arrived yesterday, and made his decision.

"Hermione Granger."

The man nearly dropped the robes he was holding. "Really? That has to be the marriage of the century! How have you kept this quiet for so long?"

Harry could tell this conversation wasn't going anywhere good. "Here, Ron, this looks nice. Why don't you try it on?"

"Yeah, sure." Ron took the robes, happy to not answer the question. Harry took the opportunity to pull the attendant aside.

"Under no circumstances are you to let Ron pay for anything. Understood?"

Marcus nodded. "These will match his, and I think the green trim will accent your eyes nicely."

_What IS it with people and my eyes? _Harry wondered. He slipped into the dressing room next to Ron's. Even Harry had to admit he looked good, and not just because of the robes. The last month had done wonders for his appearance - Mrs. Weasley's cooking had put some weight on him, and getting out of the house had returned color to his pallid skin. Unfortunately, nothing could rid himself of the lightning scar that marked him as Harry Potter. He heard Ron talking with Marcus, so he hurried to finish dressing and came out to have a look at Ron.

"Those two are very nice, I must say." Marcus said, admiring them. Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged. Harry looked around for a moment, almost expecting something to jump out at him.

"Do you have anything a little simpler?" Harry asked. The robes he had on were a little too busy for him - he wasn't the one getting married anyway.

"Yes sir, I'll go find something." He bustled off while Ron and Harry changed out of the dress robes. The two were out before Marcus came back, and Harry could feel the store becoming aware of his presence. It had happened like this in Diagon Alley.

"Are you and Ginny together again?" Ron asked, catching Harry off-guard. It took him a moment, but he realized his thinking about Ginny in terms of marriage the night before was quite ahead of things.

"No. We haven't even talked to each other since what happened yesterday." Although they hadn't spoken of it, Harry was sure Ron had seen him and Ginny together - he'd been stupid enough to leave the door open and incur the wrath of Molly Weasley, in any case.

"Oh." Ron said. He hadn't been expecting that. "Well, if you hurt her again, you know I'll have to kill you." Harry saw the familiar grin on his face, but it didn't seem to quite reach his eyes. A shiver ran down Harry's spine as he realized Ron wasn't entirely joking.

"Don't worry mate, I'm sure she'll do it before you ever get the chance."

Ron nodded as Marcus appeared again with two sets of robes for Ron and Harry. Harry noticed the second one on his right hand. "Let me try that one on." He took the clothing from the attendant and stepped into the dressing room, admiring the simplicity. As he tried it on, Harry smiled. This was it - he wouldn't draw attention to himself, but it was very elegant, and it seemed to just be him.

He came out to see what he looked like with Ron, who was indifferent as usual. Harry kept to himself how much he liked the looks - he had a sneaky feeling Ron wouldn't let him hear the end of it if he sounded like a girl.

--------------------

The boys were munching happily on a snack, having spent most of the afternoon wandering through various interesting shops, most of them to do with Quidditch. That seemed to be the only thing that held Ron's interest; Harry was just surprised how much there was outside of the Hogwarts school trip boundaries. The girls hurried up to their table, bags in hand and looking exhausted.

"Where are your robes?" Hermione immediately asked, fixing them with a glare.

Ron grinned. "We finished _ages _ago. We took them home and came back to wait for you three."

The girls looked shocked. "You didn't just get rubbish to be done with it, did you?"

Ron put on a wounded expression. "You really think I would make anything less than perfect on our special day?" Harry barely held back a snigger. Ron had been waiting half the afternoon to deliver that line.

"I...well..." Hermione faltered. Ginny smiled, taking a seat next to Harry, Tonks next to her, and Hermione next to Ron, who was looking rather pleased with himself. He leaned over and whispered something into Hermione's ear, which apparently made her angry.

"Harry James Potter!" She glared at him. "You _knew _I wouldn't let you do that!"

For once, Harry hadn't the faintest clue what he'd done. Hermione scoffed at the confused look on his face. "You knew Ron wouldn't refuse to let you pay. I don't appreciate you going behind my back." Oh, that. Harry realized. "What store did you go to?"

Harry couldn't remember the name, but Ron for some reason did, and looked rather happy about it. "The Golden Galleon."

Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks all gasped at once. Harry looked at them funny, wondering if there was something Ron hadn't told him. "But...Harry..." Hermione took a moment, then glared back at Ron. "You're joking."

Ron smiled, innocently, if that was possible. "He dragged me in there."

Hermione gaped at Harry, disbelieving. "You shouldn't have..."

Harry, by this time, was feeling rather left out. "Shouldn't have what?"

Ginny leaned over to explain. "Harry, that's probably the best wizard's clothing store in the world. You two probably looked stunning in whatever you tried on."

Harry had to admit, he was surprised at how fast the fitting had gone. It seemed that everything just fell into place. "It really wasn't that much..."

Silence followed, and then Tonks let out a low whistle. "Potter...your vault must be the size of the London Underground..."

Harry flushed red with embarrassment. He, in fact, probably had enough money to let all of the Weasleys retire on the spot, but he never wanted to make a big deal out of it. After his parents' initial inheritance, he'd gotten more on his 17th birthday, all of Sirius's possessions, a bit from Lupin (though Harry hadn't expected any), and even a good bit Dumbledore's estate. This, along with intelligent investing by Goblins in both the Magical and Muggle world, had expanded his personal wealth even beyond his own imagination. Money had never been a problem for Harry Potter, and never would be.

"So what's this I hear about you and Ginny sleeping together?" Tonks asked, looking pointedly at Harry and changing the subject. Ginny flushed the same color as Harry, even as Tonks looked to him for an explanation. Ron and Hermione seemed to be interested too.

"I haven't been sleeping well lately, and Ginny and I were talking. I sort of fell asleep on top of her and she didn't want to wake me."

Tonks laughed, taking a moment to regain her breath. "That's one of the worst stories I've heard in a while, Potter." Ron had to agree, but Hermione didn't think now was the best time to put stress on their relationship.

"This is supposed to be about Ron and I, not Ginny and Harry," she pouted. "They'll have their day."

Harry resisted the urge to hug her. She could be such a life saver sometimes.

--------------------

Tonks left the Weasleys' after dinner for her next assignment, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry at the Burrow. It had been one of the most pleasant meals Harry had at the Weasley's - the gap of silence between him and Ginny (that was now gone) had been very depressing.

"Harry, I don't believe you've told us where you live," Arthur Weasley prompted as Harry was about to return home. Indeed, Harry never stayed a night at the Burrow, but never said where he went.

"I'll be moving into Hogwarts soon - I think McGonagall is going to give me a teacher's room in Gryffindor tower."

"Really? That has to be cool, living in your old house." Ginny sounded almost longing, but Hermione wouldn't let Harry off that easily.

"You didn't answer the question, Harry."

Silence ensued as Harry considered how to answer. He didn't want them to show up there before he had a chance to clean it up, and he really didn't want them to know he lived there at all. He would have to ask Professor Flitwick how the Fidelius Charm worked after the Secret-Keeper died. He'd never had reason to find out.

"I've been living somewhere safe." Every Weasley in the room stared at him as his point became clear.

"Well, what's for dessert?" Ron asked.

"Ron, you need to stop thinking about food," Ginny groaned. Ron scowled at her and slid off into the kitchen, followed quickly by Hermione and Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley looked at Ginny and Harry before deciding to retreat to the kitchen also.

"So where _do_ you live?" Ginny asked again.

Harry laughed, trying to play off her question. "Why, do you want me to take you home with me?"

"I just might."

The seriousness of her response startled Harry. Something about her attitude told him it was about more than just where he lived. "Why do you want to know?"

Her mouth opened, but her response was cut off by Ron, who walked back in holding some ice cream. "Either of you want dessert?"

"No, thanks." Harry said. Ginny only had to glare at him before he left.

"Because if we're going to try to be close again, I want to know where you sleep at night, and preferably within curse distance of me." Her voice was hard, but Harry could tell she wasn't angry. He'd always been able to tell the nuances of her emotions, even before they'd started dating. It was just he'd chosen to ignore them over the last two years.

"I'll be sleeping at Hogwarts, and you wouldn't be able to curse me because only students and faculty are allowed to stay there."

"What if I'm 'faculty?'" Ginny raised her eyebrow in challenge.

Harry ignored it. "Seven year rule, Ginny. Hermione quoted it from _Hogwarts: A History_ the night I accepted the job. Something about me being the youngest teacher ever, and how McGonagall must be desperate." Harry wondered how cursed the job would be if McGonagall was that desperate.

"Since when have rules stopped me from getting what I want?"

Harry had to agree with her on that. Ginny had almost as much concern for the rules that Fred and George had. "Which is why you can't become a teacher."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm going to do it just to prove you wrong." She stood and disappeared up to her room to do who knows what. Harry had to smile. If he was right, he could say he proved Ginny Weasley couldn't do something. If he was wrong, he would get to spend a lot of time with her over the next year.

--------------------

Harry's birthday came around in a flash, and Mrs. Weasley insisted upon making a big deal of it by inviting half the wizarding world to come. Tonks, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and Gabrielle were all on the guest list to Harry's knowledge, as well as quite a few of the remaining Order members. Of these, Harry found no problems except Gabrielle. He still hadn't talked to Ginny about their relationship - it was a generally held belief that the two were just close friends at the moment. Harry was almost convinced she wasn't even looking for a romantic relationship; she seemed to be content with just having him close by her when she needed him, which presented a problem for Harry. Mrs. Weasley was right...he did fancy Gabrielle, and though he knew his life was with Ginny if she wanted, he didn't want to push the relationship on her.

Harry was still pondering this dilemma when Bill, Fleur, and Gabrielle arrived at the Burrow. Apparently Gabrielle had taken an International Portkey from France to stay with Bill and Fleur until the wedding. Suspiciously, the sisters' parents would not be attending; giving Harry the unmistakable feeling Gabrielle's presence was merely to court him.

In any case, the Burrow seemed as full as it had been since Harry's return; it was not uncommon to find guests milling about outside just for some fresh air. The party had been going on quite some time when Harry found Gabrielle standing alone, gazing at the tree the two had sat under not so long ago.

"I'm sorry about what happened last time," he offered meekly. She turned, the ever-present smile in its place.

"It is nothing. Even best friends fight sometimes." Whatever she'd been thinking of before his arrival seemed to still be on her mind. Harry let her have her peace, trying to come up with something interesting to say.

"What do you think of England?"

She considered her response. "It is different than France, though no less attractive." Harry had to remind himself he was speaking to a fifteen year old - something he could have completely forgotten very easily.

"So you're staying with Bill and Fleur until after the wedding?"

She nodded, but didn't reply. Harry wondered if now was a good time to ask her to the wedding. He'd already decided to after Ginny didn't show any interest in him beyond a friend - he could take no from Gabrielle, but not from Ginny. He opened his mouth to say something, but a flash of Ginny herself stopped him.

"Hey Harry! What're you doing out here? The party's inside!"

Gabrielle looked back with distaste at the small redhead. They were two opposites - one passionate, spontaneous, and stubborn, the other cool, rational, and accommodating. Harry wondered if he could ever spend time with one without offending the other. Ginny certainly took exception to him being with Gabrielle.

"It's a little crowded in there - if they could bring the party out here, that'd be great," Harry called back, to Gabrielle's mirth. Ginny looked affronted.

"Maybe I will." She sauntered back inside, leaving Harry to notice an admiring look from Gabrielle.

"You worked things out with her?"

Harry nodded. "Somewhat." He walked over to where she was standing, feeling oddly important. "I'm guessing you don't usually have parties like this back home?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "We do not. I live very calmly compared to what happens around here." She looked down, seemingly disappointed for reasons unclear to Harry.

"Well, I'm going to go back inside if you'd like to join me," he offered.

She smiled politely, but shook her head. "No, thank you. I am going to stay out here for a while." She looked back out toward the fast setting sun, which played off of her silver hair beautifully. Harry wondered if something was wrong with her, but decided it wasn't his place to ask and disappeared back inside to see about the party.

--------------------

Harry got a good number of inexpensive but thoughtful gifts - everyone knew he had more money than he knew what to do with - so most of the guests gave him something that might prove useful in his new job. Fred and George were the exception in giving him a mixed back of products ("Wheezes, Harry" corrected the twins), with a note reminding him of his roots in "mischief." He shared a grin with the pranksters at this.

The next day, Harry's birthday was completely forgotten and preparations for the wedding were in full swing. To be honest, Harry couldn't be happier, though he'd given up trying to stay away from the Burrow to avoid work. He also had another problem - Ginny's birthday. He had no idea what to get her - she'd gotten him a new quill (a sugar spun and spell checking peacock, really), but he hardly thought she would need something like that.

As August 6 rolled around, Harry forgot completely about birthday presents and concentrated on asking Gabrielle to be his date to the wedding. He'd brought up the idea of dates to the wedding a couple of times around Ginny, but she'd said she was going alone and had no interest in taking anyone. Harry and Gabrielle had seen each other at least once a day since his party, always in good spirits, always calm and thoughtful. It was a nice break from the Weasleys. Harry found her this afternoon sitting under the same tree they had met under, but she seemed to be in her own little world.

"Mind if I sit here?" Harry asked.

"Not at all...but it is a little dirty." She smiled as he plopped down next to her.

"I'm not like your sister, you know."

Gabrielle gave a rare laugh at that, bumping him playfully with her shoulder. Harry wished she laughed more. "I do not think I would like another one."

Harry nodded, thinking. "Can I ask you something?"

She cocked her head in a curious expression. "Of course."

"Do you have a boyfriend at home?"

His question sparked a wide range of emotions to pass over her, with surprise and hope being the major two. It was the first time Harry had seen her have anything but that amazing smile on.

"Why do you ask?' She quickly put a clamp on her feelings, and her voice became guarded.

"I was wondering if you'd..." Harry paused, realizing that forming a complete question was harder than it looked. "If you would be my date to the wedding."

Shock flashed once more onto her face, then she let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "Of course I will." She hugged him, looping her arms around his neck and rolled on top of him. Harry hadn't expected this - Gabrielle was usually very reserved - but he managed to hug her back awkwardly. After a moment, the old Gabrielle was back as she sat up and flushed with embarrassment.

"I am sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Harry laughed. "It's all right, just surprised me a little."

She arched a thin eyebrow. "Really? I would 'ave thought ze women would be all over you." Her accent slipped again; it happened whenever she was very comfortable, surprised, or nervous. She was right - Harry would admit that - but he'd never let the flirting become physical. Touch wasn't something he was very fond of from strangers.

"Not as much as you might think," he replied. Gabrielle eyed him.

"You do not mind it, do you?"

In truth, after the Cho Chang incident he was only comfortable with one girl for _that_ kind of contact (and her surname wasn't Delacour), but he didn't want any awkward moments with Gabrielle. He liked her, and supposed he could get used to her touch if he had to, as long as it didn't involve anything other more than hand-holding and the occasional hug. Besides, she was still young enough to be innocent. Unfortunately, it revealed a major problem if he was going to be with any girl – even with Ginny he would be hard pressed able to make him comfortable with anything more than snogging. But, for Gabrielle's sake, he lied.

"I don't mind it from you, if that's what you're asking."

Gabrielle smiled brilliantly, making Harry wonder if he'd been a little too suggestive. She took his hand in hers, holding it with a light touch that (to Harry) didn't quite feel right. He felt as though he was going to break her hand.

"So wait - you never answered my question," Harry prompted.

"What question?" Gabrielle was hoping she wouldn't have to answer it. Her current love life was complicated - she hoped he would make it simple by being her boyfriend. She would take him over any other boy she could possibly meet.

"How many boys do you have falling over you at home?" It took her a moment to process his humor. If there was one thing she still struggled with, it was understanding his (and the Weasleys') casual jokes.

"Oh...um..." For once, she seemed to not know what to say. "I do not have a boyfriend, but there are many attractive boys at school. I am waiting on one to decide if he is interested or not." She blushed furiously as the last words came out. _Why_ did she always have to say exactly what she was thinking?

Harry seemed to take it as an embarrassing subject. "Well, any of them would be lucky to have you. I think Fleur is lucky to have gotten Bill though." The two shared a chuckle at that - they both had a private distaste for Fleur.

_Does he really think that?_ Gabrielle was starting to have hope in Harry Potter. Perhaps he might think of her in _that _way after all. "He does make her happy, something I thought impossible. I'm happy for her."

Harry nodded. He felt the same way - and perhaps slightly envious. He knew he wanted to get married some day, to have that significant other always there, but it was impossible to find someone not caught up in his name. Even Gabrielle seemed to have a sort of reverence for him. Harry sighed again as he thought of Ginny.

--------------------

Harry found the wedding ceremony to be rather boring. Oh, he understood the importance to Ron and (especially) Hermione, but it didn't have to be so long. At least it gave him time to think about the speech and toast he was supposed to give at the reception.

After the wedding finally broke, Harry found Gabrielle waiting for him with drinks.

"What are you so excited about?" Gabrielle had a huge smile on her face.

"I was just thinking how wonderful everything is. I can't wait to get married some day."

"Aren't you a little young for that?"

Gabrielle's gut clenched. He thought she was too young to take seriously. She forced her expression to remain the same as she answered. "To be married? Yes. But it does not mean I should not look forward to it." She glanced over him with a look he couldn't figure out. Ginny, looking as amazing as Gabrielle in her maid-of-honor attire, joined them.

"Well that was rather boring," she said. Gabrielle scowled at her, but she didn't notice as she was looking at Harry. "Don't you think?"

Gabrielle, who looked less than please at Ginny's appearance, slid over to Harry and wrapped her arm around his waist. Harry tried to make a diplomatic response and not show his discomfort with Gabrielle's arm.

"It was all right. A bit long for my taste though." Both girls seemed to accept this answer.

"Are you going to give a speech Harry?" Ginny prodded.

"I suppose. Do you want to go first or me?"

Ginny grinned mischievously. "Oh, you first. I insist."

Harry shot a distasteful look at her, then stepped out of Gabrielle's hold and onto a chair. He pulled out his wand, sending up red and gold sparks to grab everyone's attention.

"Er - I know I'm supposed to make a wonderful speech and toast here, but in honor of Ron's wonderful influence upon me, I haven't got anything prepared."

There were many laughs at this, though Professor McGonagall looked very stern. She remembered all too well Ron's homework habits.

"I guess that's why he's lucky he's got Hermione. I remember when we first met - she came in to our compartment on the Hogwarts Express looking for a toad, of all things, to help a fellow classmate." Neville (who'd just been able to make the wedding) turned furiously red, and even Hermione tinged pink. They'd all been so young and eager back then...it was a lifetime ago. "But I'll always remember the Halloween we became real friends. A troll had been set loose in the castle, so all of the students were ordered back to their houses. Unfortunately, Hermione was nowhere to be found." Most of the gathering smiled, having heard about this escapade at one point or another. Harry lowered his voice slightly and bent down toward the crowd as if telling a secret. "Though I'm sure Ron hasn't told you _why_ Hermione was missing. I seem to remember him applying the word 'nightmare' to that lovely lady he's now pledged his life too."

Ron turned furiously red while everyone else laughed at his expense. When Harry thought of it during the wedding, he'd had to hold back a grin himself. Even McGonagall was spotted with something other than her trademark stoicism. Only after Hermione gave her husband a light kiss did Harry continue.

"That night was the night Ron and I took down a troll to save his future wife, but I'm sure he would have taken on a full giant if it had come between him and Hermione. But we weren't the only two to call upon the courage of Gryffindor that night. Hermione had to find it in herself to...er...keep us out of trouble for sneaking off when the teachers arrived." The golden trio shared a knowing smile, though Harry could tell he'd done an excellent job embarrassing them both.

"I'm sure the honorable Ginny Weasley would like a chance to embarrass her brother also, so I'll keep this short. I couldn't have asked for better friends than Ron and Hermione, and I wouldn't trade them for a thing in this world. However, in being around them enough to make anyone crazy, I have two pieces of advice."

Hermione looked up at that; she seemed very interested. Ron looked as though he was braced for impact.

"One, never doubt the love these two have for each other. I know in fifty years they will still look at each other the way they did today, and honestly, the way they did ever since they were old enough to start thinking about each other." Hermione smiled broadly, and even Ron perked up a bit. "Second, don't ever get between them in a fight - six years at Hogwarts definitely taught me that. The last two years taught me why - you'll soon see their very passionate love first hand."

Harry raised his glass to the now crimson couple, with the rest of the crowd following. "To Ron and Hermione." He drained the glass, winking at Hermione before stepping down.

--------------------

"That was the worst speech I've ever heard, mate." Ron found Harry after a while, with Hermione at his side of course. Both were smiling like it was the best day of their lives.

"Aww...I thought I did a good job. Hermione certainly made the wedding long enough for me to think of it." Ron guffawed while Hermione scowled at him.

"I thought it was wonderful," Gabrielle said from Harry's side. She had her arm linked with Harry's so fast it made Hermione give him a meaningful glance.

"See how you like it at _your _wedding," Ron grumbled. Hermione's ears perked up to a change in music, this time to a slower ballad. Ron didn't even argue - he'd known this was coming. Hermione dragged him of to another part of the Burrow's magically expanded backyard to dance. Gabrielle squeezed Harry's arm, pulling him in the direction of Ron and Hermione's path.

"Dance with me?"

Harry's initial thought was to refuse, but he remembered how Parvati reacted to him at the Yule Ball. It was rather sad that was all the experience he had to go on, but that was the price of being Harry Potter. Maybe if he flooded his aversion to physical contact, it would go away.

"Sure." He allowed himself to be pulled over to the dance floor and into a slow, revolving embrace with Gabrielle. Every instinct flared within him to run, to get her head off his shoulder, but he didn't want her to go home thinking of him as a jerk. The sight of Ginny watching them didn't make it any easier; Harry felt as though he was cheating on her, even though they weren't dating.

As soon as the dance was over, Harry excused himself from Gabrielle and hunted Ginny down. She wasn't an easy lady to find - Harry finally found her talking to McGonagall, of all people. With anyone else, he would have cut in, but Harry suspected that wasn't the best way to curry favor with his new boss. He waited out of earshot until their business was concluded, then pounced on Ginny. "I need to talk to you."

Ginny looked around, as if confused. "Where's Gabrielle?"

"Ginny..." Harry grabbed her arm. "I have something I want to ask you, and then you can guilt trip me all you want, depending on your answer."

She sighed, her look half expectant, half curious as to what could make him this agitated.

"Are we together?"

She stared at him in disbelief. "Not with you and Gabrielle together! I like you, a lot, but I don't like you enough to let you cheat on me!"

Harry took that as a slap in the face and fell back, wide-eyed and completely dazed. He realized that's what he'd been feeling every time Gabrielle got close to him. That was why he felt sick at her touch. It was the Ginny inside of him, telling him it wasn't right, he was with the wrong girl.

Ginny wondered what she'd said to scare him that badly. She'd meant to get his attention, yes, but something told her she'd hit a nerve without thinking. It said something about his feelings toward her, but she didn't know what it was.

"Ginny...I..." Harry couldn't think of anything to say. He knew he was wrong for ever even thinking of Gabrielle, but Ginny had never shown an interest in being anything more than a friend again. Or maybe she had, and he hadn't noticed. Harry did the only thing he could. He sat down, hard. Ginny came to his side, concerned.

"Harry? Are you okay?"

He was staring into space at the moment, feeling as he had the night Hermione had broken through him and barely able to hear Ginny's voice. This was the one thing he never thought he would do - cheat on anyone. It just wasn't right; it wasn't something he thought he would allow himself to do. Ginny was about to go find Hermione when Harry finally spoke.

"I'm sorry."

The words didn't surprise her as much as the held back tears. Harry was always apologizing for something or another, but here, in a crowd of happy witches and wizards, at his best friends' wedding, Harry Potter was trying not to cry over _her_. She immediately took his hand and held it tightly.

"Harry, whatever it is, it's okay. We'll work it out." She felt him squeeze her hand slightly, but his expression was solemn when he looked up at her.

"I need to be alone." Ginny burned to know why she couldn't be around, but she didn't ask. She withdrew her hand and left him with a kiss on his cheek. Harry disapparated with a small pop, appearing in Ginny's own bedroom and collapsing on her bed.

_How am I going to fix this without breaking Gabrielle's heart?_

--------------------

"Harry." Someone shook his shoulder gently. He didn't move. Dreamless sleep had been so nice, even if it had only been three-quarters of an hour.

"Harry!" The voice was more insistent, and vaguely female. He buried his face into his pillow. Wait, it couldn't be his pillow. The scent was familiar, but not his. He didn't smell even vaguely fruity.

The hand shook him harder. "Harry, I really don't want to have to kick you out of my bed, but I will."

_Huh? Oh..._ Harry quickly sat up, willing his eyes to open. Ginny was standing above him, grinning. Harry would have too, but he didn't fancy being woken from a nice nap.

"What's important enough to wake me up?" Harry groaned

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Me, of course." She let him gape for a moment, then added, "People are starting to leave, and I thought you might want to say goodbye."

Harry groaned, but he stood and stretched. This was the last time he'd see most of them for a while, unless they came up to see him at Hogsmeade. Even as a teacher, Harry was restricted on his ability to leave campus - he was expected to be on hand in case of an emergency. He looked down sheepishly at the now hopelessly ruffled blankets.

"Er - sorry about the bed."

Ginny giggled. "You really should stop sleeping in it, Potter."

Harry walked out of the room, heading downstairs before Ginny could suggest more. He found Gabrielle first.

"I have been looking for you!" She smiled that amazing smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a bit of a stretch for her given their height difference, but she didn't seem to mind stretching her body out against him. Especially not as Ginny walked by, throwing them a sickened expression. Harry felt a pang of guilt, but he knew it would be over soon. _Might as well make it look good_, Harry thought. He put his hands on her hips, unable to stop from thinking Ginny's felt more natural and didn't cause him to feel like he was going to revisit his lunch.

"I'm sorry I disappeared, but I wanted to tell you goodbye and that I had a really great time this week." Harry thought that sounded a bit lame, but it was hard to think with Ginny watching them like a hawk. He felt like he was under examination.

"I did too." She looked up at him sweetly, washing Harry over in the veela's charm.

"I'm going to be going away to teach at Hogwarts, and you're going back to school, so we probably won't see each other for a while." Harry wasn't sure what she expected of him, but the disappointed look on her face didn't make him feel any better.

"I know. We will have to save the second date for another time then." She spoke slowly, as if trying to keep her accent in check. Harry wondered how many feelings she wasn't showing, and realized just how hard it was to crush a little girl's dream.

"Um...about that...I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I don't think there will be one." She stared up at him, looking shocked and hurt. Harry hated himself right at that moment. "You are a wonderful girl to be around, and I wouldn't change anything about the last week, but I can't be in a long distance relationship. You still have a few years of school to finish too."

Gabrielle sighed, pulling her arms down and sliding his hands off her hips. "I understand, of course. I am glad to have shared this time with you."

Harry blocked Ginny's smile out and focused on not completely breaking Gabrielle's heart. "I still believe what I said - any boy is lucky to have you." He tilted her head up with his hand, as Hermione had done for him many times during the war. As much as his mind was screaming for him to get away, the gesture seemed to comfort her. He had to concentrate almost like he was fighting off the Imperius Curse. "And besides, you can always say you've kissed Harry Potter."

A small smile broke out at that, and her accent finally won. "Ze papers do not give you enough credit. You really are a wonderful man, Mr. Harry Potter." She stood on her toes, expectantly. Apparently she hadn't thought he meant the kiss on the cheek she'd given him earlier in the week. Harry noticed Bill and Fleur waiting for Gabrielle and thought _what the hell..._ So he kissed her, right on the lips. Briefly, as his angry mind sent a shudder down his spine, but enough to light up her smile again. That was all that mattered to Harry, consequences and his feelings be damned.

"Thank you, 'Arry." Her eyes blazed with admiration.

"Just giving a little show back to your sister." Harry laughed as Gabrielle turned bright pink. "They're waiting for you."

She nodded, giving his hand one last squeeze before going to join Bill and Fleur next to a Gringotts car. He watched her go, trying to forget Fleur's incredulous stare.

_SMACK!_ "HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

At least she'd waited until Bill could get Gabrielle away. He must have seen it coming. Harry rubbed his face where Ginny slapped him, making it even redder.

"I thought you were just telling her goodbye?!"

Harry winced at her dangerous and quite loud voice. "Haven't you heard of a goodbye kiss?"

_SMACK!_ Harry supposed he deserved that one. At least it was to the other side of the face. The worst part was people (namely the twins, Ron, and Charlie) were starting to notice.

"Can we take this inside?"

Ginny seemed about eight times her size to Harry as she yelled. "No! I actually thought you were sorry, and now you go off and do that?!"

Harry looked down at the ground. "I didn't want to hurt her," he said, meekly.

"Her?! What about _me?_ You know, the only girl you can be with?"

Harry didn't appreciate having his words belted out to the entire family and their friends, but wisely decided not to say anything about it.

"You expect me to think you didn't snog Jared at all in the last two years?"

The Weasley brothers winced. They all knew it wasn't good to make a point against Ginny in a fight, even if it was a good one. It only gave her more steam.

"How - How do you know about him?" Her volume took a dive, putting everyone but Harry out of earshot.

"Trying to hide him, eh?" Harry could feel a bit of anger prickle at the back of his neck. He noticed Hermione disappear from behind Ginny, and took a hint. He wouldn't set Ginny on his best friend, no matter the reason. "I'm not as out of touch as you might think."

"Why were you checking on my love life?" Her tone flipped back to accusatory.

"Maybe because I wanted to be in it? Though I couldn't, because you were already taken." Hermione had told him about the break-up after Ginny had gotten back, but he hadn't taken the bait to try to get her back.

"I would never have been with him if you hadn't been a prat." Ginny replied nastily.

"I wouldn't have been with Gabrielle if you didn't ignore me all summer!"

It boiled down to a staring contest. Ginny was red with fury, laced with embarrassment, while Harry was guilt-ridden, and laced with anger. They stared at each other, baring their feelings like fangs. It was several minutes before Ginny cracked, her anger no longer able to sustain her. Her voice cracked as well, coming out as weak and vulnerable.

"Kiss me?"

Harry was only too happy to oblige. Mind you, it wasn't the brief kiss he gave Gabrielle. It was a full contact, open mouthed, tongue lashing affair that earned a low whistle from Fred.

"Hands, Potter!" Ron called, breaking the two apart. The youngest Weasley brother had seen where fights like that could go, and judging by Harry's hands, they weren't far from it. What he hadn't seen was Ginny's own less than innocent rubbing against Harry...mostly because he was still trying to process what his best mate had done to his sister. All the feelings of anger and hate he'd felt over the last year flooded back, but he put a clamp on them as Hermione returned to his side. This wasn't the time or place - he wouldn't ruin the day for his wife.

Ginny tossed her hair as she turned toward Ron's voice. "Sorry!" He made a face, but didn't say anything. She turned back to Harry, who couldn't quite meet her eyes.

"Um...I should go start saying goodbye to everyone else."

"Yeah...I'll just...I'll let you do that." She walked as calmly as possible into the house, but Harry would have sworn he heard a squeal.

--------------------

_**A/N:** Okay, just remember this is an H/G love story before you go and curse Gabrielle's name into oblivion. I promise Harry prefers red over silver - it's a Gryffindor thing. ;)_


	6. Imperio

**_Chapter Six: Imperio_**

Two more days passed, though Ginny and Harry showed no more affection for each other than holding hands and the occasional snuggling together on a couch. Her birthday rolled around quite fast, and Harry still had no idea what to get her. He was just about to leave for Diagon Alley to poke around when he spotted something in Grimmauld Place that gave him an idea. Smiling softly, he tucked a small brown package into his robes before changing his destination to the Burrow.

He apparated just outside the wards, then walked past Mr. Weasley's shed toward the front door. Ginny had obviously been waiting for him; she burst out of the door and nearly tackled him with a powerful embrace. Only his height saved him from falling to the ground.

"Happy Birthday, I think."

She looked up at him with her arms around his waist. "You think?"

"Well, I nearly just got killed by a small red truck, so I'm not sure if I'm still alive or in a better place."

She laughed and felt warm inside. She didn't know where they all came from, but he was always making those little comments that made her feel special.

"So what did you get me?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I didn't know I was supposed to get you anything."

She eyed him, pressing her hand against the package in his robes. "Then what's that?"

Harry was saved from having to find a witty response by Charlie Weasley, who came out to greet Harry. "Hey, I don't remember you being allowed to touch my sister," he said, smiling. Harry had wondered about that. The Weasley brothers hadn't so much as said a word about his relationship with their sister while he wasn't in Ginny's presence. Granted, he wasn't out of Ginny's presence much, but there were times. He'd gotten a hard impression that they wanted nothing less than break his arms, but maybe he was safe under Mrs. Weasley's watch. In any case, Charlie was the most friendly, being removed from a lot of the everyday affairs because of his dragons in Romania.

"You might want to talk to her about that, she would keep her hands off me."

Charlie gave him a resigned look as he shook Harry's hand. "She never has been able to keep her hands off boys; I guess we should have warned you."

"Charlie!" She swatted at him with an open palm as he chuckled.

"Come on you two, let's get inside. Mum will no doubt want to make a fuss over Harry."

Harry grimaced, but he followed the two siblings inside. As promised, Mrs. Weasley wrapped him in one of her famous hugs, though it had been less than 24 hours since they last saw each other. She was in the middle of cooking Ginny's birthday dinner, which an hour later turned out to be delicious. After clearing the table and munching on some dessert, the family gathered in the living room for presents. Because of the wedding and Harry's party, Ginny had only wanted a small family celebration instead of something more like Harry's birthday. Fleur was conspicuously absent; Harry wondered if Bill had anything to do with that. He knew Ginny didn't take a particular liking to her sister-in-law.

"Thanks Mum and Dad!" Ginny hugged her parents, who had just given her a new fiction book. That was one thing that still surprised Harry sometimes about Ginny. She liked to read almost as much as Hermione, except her books tended to be more fiction than the scholarly works Hermione delved into.

Ginny looked over at Harry, who was just noticing all of the presents were gone and everyone was looking at him. He pulled the brown package out of his robes, handing it to her and grinning at the confused expression on her face.

"Amazing things come in small brown packages," Harry commented, sharing a look with Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in the same chair and looking very much married. Ginny's curiosity was palpable as she slid the mirror out of its package.

"Harry! I'm not _that _vain!" Ginny said indignantly. Everyone in the room sniggered except for Hermione, who gasped as she realized what it was. Harry explained it to everyone else.

"Ginny, it's not just a mirror. That's one of the two-way mirrors Sirius gave me before he died."

The room quieted with the mention of Sirius, but Ginny slowly brought happiness back with a smile. "You know what the best thing about this mirror is? I won't need it!"

Confusion came from every direction, much to Ginny's delight. "I'm going to be working at Hogwarts! Madam Pomfrey has agreed to take me on as a healer's assistant." She seemed overjoyed even in the stunned silence that followed.

"That doesn't count as faculty," Harry finally said, annoyed. Everyone gave him a peculiar look except Ginny, who laughed.

"I still got there, so it counts."

Harry didn't bother arguing - he was too happy about the news. He'd thought his relationship to Ginny would be exactly what he told Gabrielle he didn't want - long distance. He would have done it in a heartbeat, but he wouldn't have said it was the best thing he could ask for.

Mrs. Weasley hugged her daughter, recovered from the shock and happy. "I'm so proud of you Ginny. You found something you want to do!" As much as she loved her daughter, she wanted Ginny to move out and become an independent woman. The fact Harry was there to watch over her was just an extra.

Fred and George took the news differently. "Wait, so you're not going to be a teacher?" Fred asked.

Ginny shook her head. "Professor McGonagall made that clear. I'll have no power over the students, and Madam Pomfrey will be in charge of me. I won't be a part of the student body, but still expected to behave like one." She made a face as she repeated part of her conversation with the Headmistress at the wedding.

"Excellent." Fred said.

"Splendid." George added.

The twins grinned at her. "You're not a teacher, but you're still at Hogwarts..."

"...so you can be out delivery girl for mail-orders!" George finished. They both wrapped an arm around her shoulders before spotting their mother's face.

"You most certainly will not! Your products would make more work for your sister!"

The twins looked crestfallen, then shot Ginny a look that said _we'll talk later._ As he thought about it, Harry realized he had no idea how many OWLs Ginny had gotten - he was out hunting horcruxes when she would have gotten her results. He guessed they must have been very good to take on the Healer's career track.

The focus quickly became fixed to Ginny and her decision to become a healer. Harry watched the Weasleys with a faint smile, then looked up as Hermione came to sit on the arm of his chair.

"I'm going to miss this," she said, with a note of sadness.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Why? We'll all still be family." He winced after he realized what he said, but Hermione gave him a comforting smile and a hand on his arm.

"You're a part of the family too, whether you like it or not. It'll just be official when you marry Ginny." Harry blinked, trying to get Hermione's damned smile out of his head. She had the look she always had when she knew she was right.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I don't know how I'll take to this dating thing."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You know you're going to love it, and you'll be an amazing boyfriend _and_ husband. I'd take you if I wasn't already taken." Her eyes sparkled - something Harry thought only happened when she figured something out for the first time. Ron was definitely having a good effect on her.

"I don't think Ron and Ginny would appreciate it if we traded."

Hermione grinned as Ginny looked over at them. "Did I hear my name?" Harry wondered if her ears were three times more sensitive than normal, because she could hear someone talk about her from three blocks away. Hermione smiled mischievously and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck.

"I'm taking your boyfriend."

Ginny laughed. "You mean my boy toy? I guess I can let you borrow him for the night. Certainly an improvement over that." She jerked her head in Ron's direction. Hermione laughed as Harry glanced from her to Ginny, then back again.

"What, you don't think we can be dirty?" She whispered in his ear. Five minutes ago, he would have said a firm no, but something seemed odd about her tonight. Harry had a half a mind to ask if she was drunk.

"Potter, I swear you're getting more from her than I am." Ron joined them, holding a drink in his hand.

"Yeah, though I guess I don't have to worry about my girlfriend running away with you." Ron and Ginny looked at each other, disgusted, while Hermione laughed. Ron came behind Hermione and kissed her neck while leaning down to Harry.

"At least I know how to run away with a woman. Best you could do was your best mate's sister."

Hermione grinned, knowing what was coming. She loved it when they tried to one-up each other; there were many fond memories in the Gryffindor common room of them doing this exact thing.

"Not when your best mate's sister looks like that." Harry nodded toward Ginny.

"Means nothing if she won't put out for you." Ron would stop at nothing to win, even if it meant talking about his sister.

"What makes you think she hasn't?"

_Harry wins, _Ginny thought with a smile. Ron and Hermione stared at him, and then looked up at Ginny, then back at Harry. He hadn't even so much as suggested to Ginny taking the relationship that far, but her brother didn't know that.

"You...Ginny...eww! That's my _sister!_" Harry shook with silent laughter while Hermione glanced at Ginny uncertainly, who gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head. Hermione relaxed after that, laughing along with Harry.

------------------------------

Harry and Ginny stood by the fireplace in the Burrow with Ron, Hermione, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to say goodbye. Charlie had gone back to Romania and everyone else had said their goodbyes at Ginny's birthday party. Mrs. Weasley hugged them both goodbye, as did Hermione. Mr. Weasley and Ron settled for shaking Harry's hand and hugging Ginny.

"It's so weird going to Hogwarts by floo," Ginny said, and Harry had to agree.

"Forget that, it'll be weird having a teacher for a best friend," Ron said, drawing a glare from Hermione. She found nothing wrong with having teachers for friends.

"You kids have everything?" Mr. Weasley asked. Harry and Ginny nodded as Harry threw some floo powder into the fire.

"Thank you for everything Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. I can't tell you enough." Harry said.

"Oh, it's nothing dear. Just look after Ginny for us and stay out of trouble yourself." Mrs. Weasley replied as she hugged him again.

"Hermione, I expect to see you in Hogsmeade before Christmas. We still have the rest of the year to work out." When she laughed, Harry continued, "I'm serious. I couldn't do it without you."

Hermione smiled an nodded, knowing he was talking about much more than teaching. "Go, before you change your mind." Harry nodded and stepped into the fire, vanishing in an instant.

"Thanks Mum and Dad. I'll be sure to write and visit as much as possible." Ginny hugged each of them again before disappearing into the fire. Arthur and Molly sighed happily, knowing the last of their children was finally grown up.

------------------------------

The Gryffindor common room was empty when Harry and Ginny tumbled out of the fireplace. Both felt more at home here than anywhere else - Harry because he had nowhere else, and Ginny because she'd spent the majority of the last seven years of her life in this room.

"I have a bad feeling I'm going to be here for a very long time," Harry observed. Ginny looked over and smiled at him.

"I wouldn't mind if we spent the rest of our lives here. You could teach and I'll take over for Madam Pomfrey."

Harry noticed the we - apparently Hermione wasn't the only one who saw them spending the rest of their lives together. He couldn't help but wonder how it was going to be different, being a teacher rather than a student. Certainly the student body would treat him as a teacher - well, as much as they could. Most of them were here when he was still in school, though that seemed to be a lifetime ago. Voldemort was still alive back then, and he'd only been half the celebrity he was now. Somehow, his second defeat of Voldemort had validated him as a wizard - a one year old baby had hardly impressed anyone in terms of magical power. Secretly, most who didn't know him thought it had been luck. Now, no one could refute his defeat of the Dark Lord and his most trusted Death Eaters in the final showdown. Already his name was mentioned in the same reverence as Albus Dumbledore - not something to be taken lightly.

"I'd like that too," Harry finally decided, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. When she had told him that she would be with him at Hogwarts, his reservations with a physical relationship had weakened; he wouldn't have to leave that behind when he came to teach. "Hogwarts has been more of a home to me than anywhere I can think of."

Ginny looked up at him (considering he had a good six inches on her) and smiled. She didn't know when it happened, but Harry had mellowed out. She'd have to ask Hermione about it. Perhaps the end of the war had calmed the turmoil in his life and he'd been able to relax.

"So where's our room?"

Harry glanced at her in disbelief. "You're not rooming with me?" He phrased it as a question, but it was more of a statement than anything. Then again, he would never underestimate Ginny Weasley's ability to get what she wanted.

"Why not?" She grinned. "I mean, we'll move in together soon anyway. You can't expect me to stay out of your bed forever, Potter."

_When did she get this...sexy?_ "Surely you wait longer than a week before sleeping with a boy?"

"Fine then. See if you get kissed any time soon." She moved toward the portrait hole, dropping her stuff next to Harry. They actually hadn't since the wedding; though it was an experience they both were eager to repeat. Her parents' home just didn't seem like the best place to do it.

"You said it yourself, you can't stay out of my bed!" Harry called after her as she disappeared from the common room. The last thing he saw of her was a rude hand gesture as the fat lady closed the painting behind her. Harry laughed; he might as well enjoy it, because he was going to pay for it later.

------------------------------

"I'm sure your housing accommodations are adequate?" McGonagall had been all business since Harry passed through the gargoyle into her office. The room Harry had been appointed was quite lavish - in fact, the suite (it was more that than anything else) had been everything he could have asked for. It shouldn't have been surprising - since the castle reformed itself every year to accommodate the number of students invited, it was only logical it reformed for the teachers too.

"There was one thing though...why are there two beds?" Harry had a sneaky idea that Ginny was involved, but he wanted to hear it from McGonagall, who didn't seem surprised by the news.

"Surely Miss Weasley has informed you of the arrangements?"

Harry turned slightly pink despite himself. "Er...I thought she was joking, Professor."

"Most certainly not, Mr. Potter. We need someone to make sure you do not...slip...into old habits." Harry must have had a bewildered look on his face, because McGonagall eyed him disapprovingly. "Alcohol, Mr. Potter. Mrs. Weasley has informed you of the restrictions?"

Harry didn't even bother hiding his confusion. Hermione had told him, of course...oh. "Er...yes, Professor." It was going to be weird thinking of Hermione as a Weasley; the only Mrs. Weasley he thought of was Ron and Ginny's mother. He _did _have a brief and uncomfortable conversation with Hermione, in which she told him Hogwarts teachers weren't allowed to drink more than a certain amount of alcohol during the school year. The incident which started the rule was fully documented in _Hogwarts: A History_.

"Is there anything else?" McGonagall brought him back to earth. Harry shook his head and stood to leave, but something else occurred to him as his eyes fell on Dumbledore's portrait, and more specifically, his absurdly long name engraved in the frame. He turned back to McGonagall.

"Er...I'm not going to have to call you Minerva, am I?" Even sounding the name felt weird to Harry. He thought he saw one corner of her thin lips quirk upward.

"Only if you wish me to call you Harry...Mr. Potter."

Harry nodded as a grin forced its way to his lips, catching that all too familiar twinkle in Dumbledore's portrait as he exited the office.

------------------------------

McGonagall was true to her word - she gave Harry no extra responsibility other than teaching. This made for a boring two weeks before the term began, which mostly consisted of the teachers welcoming him to the staff, most of them being the same as in Harry's time at school. With the Death Eaters out of service, Slughorn had agreed to come back to teaching Potions and Head of Slytherin house, but the Transfiguration spot was someone completely new to Harry. Slughorn took the opportunity to introduce an old student of his (and no doubt a member of the Slug Club) Professor Sylvia Crane. As Harry came to find out, she'd lived in the United States until age ten, when her parents brought her over to London so she would have to go to Hogwarts. That explained her accent, but not why she reminded Harry of a younger McGonagall. He supposed Transfiguration professors had to be strict.

Ginny was a rare sight ("Madam Pomfrey is working me like a house elf!"), but she and Harry got a few intimate moments where she quickly forgot her promise not to kiss him. Life was much better than he'd expected, well, until the students arrived. It seemed they could talk about nothing but the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Hermione, being the smartest witch of her generation, had figured on this and given him time in his first lecture to each class to deal with it. His first class was a mix of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor sixth years, which Harry took as good news. Hopefully the Ravenclaws wouldn't give him too hard of a time because they were focused on learning, and the Gryffindors knew he was a former member of their house. Amazingly enough, everyone was in their seats with their books out when he entered the class.

"Before I call roll, I would like to say a couple things about this class." Harry smiled inwardly when he noticed a Ravenclaw girl already with her quill ready. It wasn't hard to spot the hard workers.

"First, this class is very serious. I will not send you to the Headmistress, but I can assure you my detentions will be less inviting. I've done quite a few myself, so I have plenty of ideas, some of which involve the Forbidden Forest." Hermione had suggested getting the class's attention early, and it looked as though she was right. A couple of the Gryffindors braved a nervous laugh, however strained.

"Second. This is a NEWT level course. Some of the things you will learn about are quite disturbing and even illegal. I will not look down upon you should you decide Defense NEWTS are not for you. By the end of this year, all of my students will be able to defend themselves, in one way or another. If you don't have the stomach for it, the door is that way." He pointed, but no one moved. _Looks like the Moody approach works,_ Harry thought. _Might as well plunge ahead._

He called roll, trying to pin names to the faces. He didn't know any of them from Hogwarts - they would have been third years in his sixth. After he was done, Harry gave the class another appraising glance.

"Put your books away, you won't need them. They are mostly for homework and extra reading; I'm going to teach through example, not theory." The Ravenclaws looked vaguely distressed by this, but that was offset by the hopeful looks of the Gryffindors. They generally did better in practical situations than the other houses.

"Who can tell me about the Unforgivable Curses?" McGonagall had expressed to him that the NEWT students were allowed and needed to know about them, but not how to perform them.

Nobody seemed to want to respond, so Harry pulled out a silver coin. "A sickle to anyone who can name one."

A shy hand raised - Harry was not surprised to find it was the same girl who had her quill out earlier. He consulted the self arranging seating chart.

"Miss Princeton?"

"Isn't one the Cruciatus Curse?"

Harry shivered involuntarily, but flipped the sickle at her to cover his reaction. "Yes. The Cruciatus Curse is probably the single most painful thing a human can experience." As he was talking, he pulled a small spider out from his desk that he'd rescued from Ron's room this summer. (Ron had been nowhere to be found to deal with it) Harry knew he was stealing his first lesson from Moody - er, Crouch - but he couldn't think of a better way. Hermione had pointed out his approach had been quite effective.

"_Engorgio_." A few of the girls squeaked, but Harry paid them no attention. His attention was on his memory of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"_Crucio._" His voice was a murderous whisper. Many of his students jumped back, but Harry noticed one watching with rapt interest. Miss Princeton again. He lifted his wand, laving the spider still twitching on the desk. "_Reducio._"

"As you can see, the Cruciatus Curse is not something to mess around with, nor can just anyone use it. It takes a powerful bit of magic and determination to perform properly." He'd learned that, ironically enough, from Lestrange herself in the Department of Mysteries.

"If you use it on a human being, or any of the Unforgivable Curses on a human, you'll find yourself in Azkaban with a life sentence." He let that sink in and the studious Ravenclaws finish writing.

"A second one?" Harry glanced over his audience, who seemed to be gazing at him with a mixture of fear and awe. Another girl raised her hand, but this time it was a Gryffindor.

"The Imperius Curse?"

Harry nodded. "Five points for Gryffindor." _Merlin that felt good_. "And five for Ravenclaw also. Imagine the one you love most stabbing you in the back with a knife. Or watching yourself do the same to your loved ones. That's what the Imperius Curse is like." He pulled out another jar. This one he'd found in the attic of the Burrow. "You may think it's funny to make a friend do embarrassing things, but it's a lot less than funny when that friend turns on you." He turned to the spider. "_Imperio._"

The spider climbed out of the cage and up Harry's robe covered arm, waving with one leg at the class. The effect wasn't as pronounced until the spider jumped onto one of the Ravenclaw girls' arm. She squealed and jumped out of her chair, shaking her arm to try and get it off, only succeeding when Harry waved it off. The Gryffindors sniggered, but Harry ignored them for the moment.

"Now imagine I had control of your family in the same way." That shut the Gryffindors up. "There are ways to fight the Imperius Curse, but I'd rather avoid Azkaban, so I won't teach you how. It takes discipline, strength, and a defiance of your first impulse. He waited for students to copy that down, then continued.

"The final curse is the Killing Curse. It's unblockable, unavoidable, and it never fails if it hits. Only one wizard has ever survived it, and you're looking at him. So don't get any ideas." The class laughed softly, though less than they might have, given how the lesson had gone already. While the students did the familiar scar-check, the spider under the Imperius Curse climbed back up on the table and rested next to Harry.

"There is nothing reversible about the Killing Curse. It wipes life from the target's body, leaving no marks, no signs of death." He motioned toward the spider. "_Avada Kedavra!_" Harry roared, followed by a flash of green light and a now-familiar rushing sound. The spider died in an instant, flopping over as death brushed by it. The room was dead silent after that, and no one moved.

"Any of those three curses will land you a life sentence in Azkaban." Harry repeated. "I'm showing you so you know what to expect, should you encounter a dark wizard. They will not politely obey the law or tell you what they're going to do." He said this with finality - every student in the room knew he was speaking from experience. Harry was the only wizard who had lived through all three curses, and multiple occasions at that. The Ravenclaw who had answered the first question raised her hand again, surprising him.

"Miss Princeton?"

"Professor, if the Unforgivable Curses are banned, how and why did you learn them?"

Harry stared at her. Neither he nor Hermione had expected that question - it hadn't even come up. It took him a second, but he recovered enough to lead into the next part of his lecture.

"During times of war, we all do things that would be unthinkable otherwise." Memories flashed, but he pushed them away. "But we are not here to discuss my personal history. What you must learn is that battling the Dark Arts is not black and white. Nothing is out of bounds, nothing is certain. The only thing between you and death is your wand and your brain. I learned a spell in my second year that has saved my life when dueling Voldemort. The Disarming Spell."

The entire class but one winced at the name, then murmurs of disbelief ran through the students. Everyone knew that was a spell meant for dueling friends, not real fighting.

"In my final duel with the Dark Lord, I disarmed him with that very spell." Harry hoped that would help drive his point in; if there was one misconception about fighting the Dark Arts, it was that you had to be special to do it. Harry paused a moment, then launched into an example.

"Tell me...if I put you in a random spot in the Forbidden Forest, could you find your way back here? Disregarding the dangers of the forest itself, of course."

No one answered. The Forbidden Forest was vast, and there was little to no light at night to guide by.

"What if I told you one simple spell would almost guarantee your return?"

Disbelieving looks passed between the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws. Harry almost smiled - maybe his teaching would have some effect after all. He held out his palm with his wand laid flat and whispered, "_Point Me._" The wand immediately spun and pointed behind him.

"The spell always points north, allowing you to keep your direction regardless of other factors. This is a simple example, but I hope you realize no spell is useless. If you are going to fight the Dark Arts, you will have to use _everything_ at your disposal."

Harry spent the rest of the class going over more of the same, sharing his general knowledge on the Dark Arts and highlighting what would be covered in the course. The only sounds in the room were quills on parchment and Harry's voice. He'd definitely mark his first class down as a success.

------------------------------

After the class, Harry retired to his office. McGonagall had given him Mondays and Fridays as light days, with most of the classes being on Tuesday through Thursday. However, a soft knock came on the door. It seemed his work didn't want to leave him be.

"Come in."

Miss Princeton entered the room, clutching her textbook to her chest. "Professor? Do you have a minute?"

Harry was reminded very strongly of Hermione, though with straight black hair and a completely different face. "What can I do for you, Miss Princeton?" Harry noticed how taking his role as an instructor changed the way he reacted to people.

"Erm..." She seemed to be very shy about whatever she wanted to talk about. "Can you teach me how to throw off the Imperius Curse? I've read that you can do it and of course I won't tell anyone you're using it on me." She said this very fast.

Harry took a moment to look her over and cover his surprise. It hit him he was only two years older than she was, but if felt like ages. Maybe it had been; war was as powerful as the strongest aging potion.

"Why do you ask?"

"Academic interest." She'd been ready for that.

Harry mulled this over. True, Moody had used it on all of them in fourth year, but that really hadn't been Moody, had it? He needed more time to think.

"I need more time to think about this - I'll talk to you about it again next class." Another knock sounded on the door, but Ginny didn't wait before entering.

"Oh! Am I interrupting anything?" She raised an eyebrow at Harry, giving him a chill down his spine. He hated that look.

"No, Miss Princeton just had a question." He turned to the Ravenclaw girl. "I'll see you next class."

The sixth year nodded, knowing a dismissal when she heard one. She left, leaving Ginny to wander over behind Harry's desk.

"_Colloportus._" Harry said, pointing his wand at the door, which shut and locked. He looked up from his chair to see an irritated look on her face.

"What was that about?" She had her hands on her hips.

Harry sighed. Miss Princeton's (he couldn't think of her by any other name) question had stressed him out more than the entire class period. "She wanted me to teach her to throw off the Imperius Curse."

"She _what?_"

Harry nodded. Ginny had heard him right.

"But why?"

"She said academic interest. I don't believe her, but I have to clue what it might be."

Ginny sat on his lap, her legs dangling off to the side. "I don't know if I trust you with those schoolgirls. There's a reason they don't let good looking men teach." Harry's little thing with Gabrielle still haunted her sometimes, though they'd talked about it and she'd told him it was all right. She understood that had been a rough time between herself and Harry.

"Ginny, it's not allowed, and besides, anything I want I can get from you."

She pressed a palm against his chest, pushing his torso back into the chair. Her eyes lit up, and her smile became dangerous. "Oh really, Potter? And do you think I'll just give you what you want?"

Harry grinned. "There's always the Imperius Curse..."

Ginny gasped. "You wouldn't dare." But her eyes had a steely glint to them, as if daring him. She growled softly as he raised his wand, her smile deepening to something more taunting.

"_Imperio._" Harry whispered. Ginny had never felt the Imperius Curse before (which was partially why she dared him), but if this was it, it was rather nice. Everything just floated away, and an unexplained happiness seemed to settle into her. Everything but Harry slid out of focus. Merlin, she loved that man. There was a little voice in the back of her head, telling her to kiss him. _Why not?_

So she kissed him, though not in her usual way. She turned to straddle him, her silver necklace falling and brushing against his chin as her lips attacked his. The voice in her head spurred her on, causing her nerves to light on fire as she held his face in her hands, grinding her hips against his. After a minute, the voice let up, and she was able to pull back, flushed red and breathing rather heavily.

"What in Merlin's name did you do to me?" she panted, her eyes blazing with passion. Harry only smiled, though he had no idea she would react like that. He'd only made her turn and kiss him, not attempt to savage him. Not that he was complaining - he quite liked that side of her.

------------------------------

The rest of the week went by in a blur. Harry finally got used to having a girl live with him and classes weren't horrible. He'd managed to put off talking to Miss Princeton by saying he was busy with start of term activities, which was technically true, but the real reason he'd put it off was to talk to Hermione about it. Ginny had sent an owl to her begging her to come for the first weekend for a drink in Three Broomsticks, though Harry was unsure why it was so important.

They met their bushy-haired friend about one in the afternoon on Saturday. Harry had informed the other teachers that he would be gone for a few hours, which still amazed him that he could do. It was taking some getting used to not being a student. Hermione smiled and waved from behind a butterbeer mug as they walked in.

"So how was your first week?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Oh, it was wonderful!" Ginny launched into the things she was learning to be a healer. Harry smiled and drank his butterbeer in silence, happy to let her ramble on. Hermione seemed to know what she was talking about, so Harry let his mind wander, thinking he needed to get out to the Quidditch pitch for a nice broom ride. He was just doing a lap around the stands when Hermione's voice cut him off.

"How do you like teaching, Harry?"

"Oh, um, it's nice." He hadn't really thought about it much. It hadn't been horrible. "I think the first years are afraid of me though. Someone must have told them about my run-in with Tom."

Hermione and Ginny laughed. Harry liked that - getting all quiet about what he'd faced wouldn't help one bit, even though he didn't like talking about specifics. In fact, he'd never really talked to anyone about that final showdown. That was one part of his life he never wanted to relive, though it happened all too often in his nightmares.

"More like the sixth and seventh years are terrorizing them. How are the lesson plans working out?"

"Great." Hermione's lesson plans had allowed him to survive the first week without major incident. He'd always had that security blanket to fall back on.

Madam Rosmerta brought food for them, which Ginny tore into with the typical Weasley vigor. Hermione and Harry exchanged contented glances, and then started eating as well.

"So Hermione," Ginny said casually around a bite of food, "What do you know about the Imperius Curse?"

That drew a sharp look. "Why?"

Harry cut in, not wanting for Ginny to share that he'd put the curse on her. "I had a student come to me in my office and ask me to help her throw it off. She heard from somewhere that I can counter it."

"Well, you can," Hermione pointed out. "But you can't teach her. Not unless you want to get a life sentence in Azkaban."

Ginny looked up from her food. "So, say somehow Harry got permission, what would the long-term side effects of being put under its control be?"

Hermione shot her a probing glance, but thankfully didn't ask. "Well, I think confusion would be one - all of the people who were Imperiused-" she rolled her eyes; most of the witches and wizards who claimed that were Death Eaters at heart, "-said that they came out of a trance and they couldn't remember simple things like where they were or what they were doing. I don't think any of them had long term damage though." She shot another questioning look at Ginny.

"Have you ever had it used on you?" Ginny asked.

Hermione nodded. "Fourth-year, when Harry learned to counter it. Still irks me that I can't stop it." Her expression turned to self-condemnation.

"I was the only one that could, Hermione," Harry said, softly. He didn't want his friend getting worked up over it.

"I suppose. Why all the interest though?" She gave both of them an accusatory look.

Ginny blushed. "Academic interest," she muttered. Harry had to hold back a smile at that, but Hermione pushed harder.

"Has someone tried to Imperiuse you?" She sounded vaguely distressed.

"No!" Ginny exclaimed, now slightly pink. Hermione was too smart for her own good.

The older witch gave Harry a pleading look, who shrugged. He hoped it looked as though he wasn't involved. Unfortunately, Hermione gave him a look that said _you're not off the hook yet._

"Should I write to your mum about it? She'd be worried sick." Hermione smiled nastily.

"No! I'm fine Hermione. I promise. I was just curious."

Hermione looked as though she was about to let it drop, but she had to get in one more comment. "Knowing you two, you'd make something obscene out of it." Unfortunately, Ginny was taking a swig of butterbeer and she sputtered into it, causing the drink to fly in all directions. Hermione looked between them, horrified. "You better tell me, now, or I will write to your mum about the both of you."

Harry, who could no longer meet Hermione's eyes, exchanged a glance with Ginny. "I guess we'd better tell her." He nodded at Ginny, making it clear she was going to explain. That earned him a scowl.

"Harry and I were - er - flirting, and I, um, said something about not giving him what he wants, and he sort of took it." She looked down, unable to meet Hermione's mortified expression. Hermione knew Harry well enough to know it hadn't been to hurt Ginny, but it was still an Unforgivable Curse.

"You put her under the Imperius Curse?!"

Harry's eyes widened - he didn't think she would be thick enough to blurt it to the whole shop. "Hermione! Keep it down please!" he whispered. She was still glaring daggers at him, but he was distracted by Ginny's foot tapping him under the table. He looked over at her, trying to figure out what her eyes were asking him. Her head tilted slightly toward Hermione, and then Harry understood, giving a slight nod. Ginny turned back to their shell-shocked friend.

"It's not what you think. It felt good, Hermione. I trust Harry, and he wouldn't make me do anything I don't want to do."

Hermione looked as though she was still trying to wrap her mind around her best friend using an Unforgivable Curse on his girlfriend. She glanced uneasily between them.

"So, um, how often do you do this?"

"We've only done it once - apparently that's why Ginny wanted you to come so much," Harry said. "She wanted to get me thrown in Azkaban." He shot her an annoyed look, making her look away.

Hermione studied the couple for a moment. "I _really_ don't want to know what goes on that you need the Imperius Curse for, but I don't think Ginny should suffer any side-effects as long as you don't keep her under constantly." Harry was reminded of Crouch Sr.

"Erm, Hermione? I don't want you to get the wrong idea about Harry and I. We haven't done anything Ron wouldn't mind being in the room for."

Hermione highly doubted that Ron would take to the idea of Harry putting his little sister under the Imperius Curse, but it was a relief that things were still in control. She knew all too well from her experience with Ron how a physical relationship could quickly spiral out of control. Curiosity was starting to overtake her shock, and as much as she didn't want to know, she had to ask.

"So how does it feel?" she asked Ginny, seeming to forget Harry was there. Ginny got a huge smile on her face. Harry had to admit, he loved seeing her face light up like that.

"It's amazing. You know that little voice in the back of your head?" Hermione nodded, shivering. That voice had made her jump onto a desk against her will. Ginny continued, "I didn't fight it, because I trust Harry, and it got me all...er..." She flushed pink. "...excited. It was odd, I didn't realize how forward I was being, but when he lifted the curse, I was..." she couldn't find a word for it, so Harry filled in.

"Possessive."

Hermione's gaze snapped to him. "Is that what you made her do?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't really come here to discuss his love life with Hermione.

"Harry, Ginny and I can talk about his alone if it makes you more comfortable," Hermione offered, but Harry shook his head.

"No, I'd rather be here. It's just weird telling my best friend I like my girlfriend to be possessive." Harry felt the heat rush into his cheeks, but that seemed to be a permanent state this afternoon. Hermione grinned teasingly.

"Sound like you have a fun boyfriend, Ginny." Except Ginny was staring too much at Harry to hear. _He liked that?_ She couldn't fathom the thought of doing that to Harry and having him want it again. Hermione was right - he would be very fun indeed.

"Does Ron know how to do the Imperius Curse?" Ginny asked. Hermione gaped at her, not believing what she just heard.

"Ginny! I'm not having anyone put the Imperius Curse on me, thank you! And besides, Harry is the only one who knows how to do any of the three Unforgivable Curses."

Harry pulled out his wand, shaking his head. Ginny and Hermione were too loud. "_Mufflatio._" Hermione nodded, but Ginny gave him a funny look. "It puts a low buzzing sound in the ears of someone trying to listen," he explained.

Ginny nodded. "Anyway, Hermione, you've got to try it. The floating feeling makes everything so much better. Come on Harry, put me under again." She rubbed her shoulder against his. Hermione stared.

"You really like this, don't you?" Ginny nodded in response, lacing her fingers in Harry's and resting their hands on the table in front of Hermione, who smiled weakly. Her mind was still reeling from the whole idea.

"Um, Hermione?" Harry's voice caused her to look up. "I would suggest not repeating this to anyone, or trying it. Ginny doesn't know the power I have over her, or how much control over magic it takes to do what I did. You remember the curse...it was like you weren't aware of what was going on. Ginny was, because I allowed her to be. I don't think many wizards could do that and still retain control over the target." Ginny gave him a funny look, but didn't argue.

"I've never heard of the Imperius Curse being used in that way before, so I don't know, but Harry's right Ginny." She nodded at him. "He's probably the only wizard in the world who can use an Unforgivable Curse and have it feel good."

Ginny looked disappointed, but cheered up quickly. "Then I'm glad he's my boyfriend, and not someone else's." Hermione laughed and changed the subject, allowing Harry to zone out. As much as he pretended for Ginny, girl stuff was boring. Unfortunately, he still had no clue what to do about Miss Princeton, and a few hours later when Hermione returned home, he was still pondering the same question.

_Why does she want to know how to throw off the Imperius Curse?_

_--------------------_

_**A/N:** Some of you may wonder about whether it's out of character for Harry to use the Imperius on Ginny - and I admit, I have some reservations as well - but you have to take into account Ginny's almost asking for it. Rest assured, the reality of it will come to them when she's not so caught up in the moment._


	7. Nightmares and Love

**_Chapter Seven: Nightmares and Love_**

"Hello Mr. Potter. I'm sure your first week was enjoyable?"

Harry noticed McGonagall had done some remodeling on the late Albus Dumbledore's office, changing it to reflect her personality. Dumbledore had been whimsical and fun-loving; his office had many items of dubious nature and no real organization, but McGonagall had the office impeccably clean and organized, as well as removing most of Dumbledore's oddities.

"It was, Professor." Harry still felt strange addressing her as anything other than her student. "I had a very unusual request from a sixth-year Ravenclaw though. She wants me to teach her to throw off the Imperius Curse." Hermione had given a flat no when he'd said something about it to her, so he hadn't really felt the need to press the matter with her. In fact, Harry was happy she had answered so finally, because he didn't want to have to deal with the moral questions that floated around in his head.

McGonagall gave him the same look that he had received so many times before; it was the look she gave him when she was thinking over his punishment for breaking school rules. Harry thought he hadn't done anything wrong, but the look scared him all the same.

"You know, of course, that using an Unforgivable Curse on another witch, wizard, or muggle is punished by a life sentence in Azkaban, no questions asked."

Harry nodded. He knew all too well.

"Which student came to you and asked this?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to point her out, but then again, he really didn't have any choice. "Miss Princeton." He couldn't remember her first name.

Something changed in McGonagall's eyes at the name - but it was gone as fast as it had come. Harry almost wished he was an accomplished Legilimens. "This school has not always seen eye to eye with the Ministry of Magic on a number of things, as you know. I know that the Ministry would not approve of this, but I do not know if they would put you in Azkaban, given your..." She gazed at him for a moment. "...hero status. I, however, think that Miss Princeton should be taught, if she wishes."

Harry's jaw dropped slightly. He'd come to the Headmistress to get an unavoidable no and a reason to give for his refusal, but it seemed the opposite was happening.

"But do no teach her to overpower _your _Imperius Curse, Mr. Potter. If this backfires, I want some measure of...control of the situation."

Harry stood in front of McGonagall's desk, stunned. It wasn't at what she'd asked him to do (everyone seemed to think his magic was one level above everyone else's), but at what she was implying. McGonagall was the most rule-abiding woman he knew, only surpassed by the great Percy Weasley, and she was telling him to use the Imperius Curse on a _student?_ Not only that, but she wanted him to be able to control her if things got out of hand? Suddenly, Harry wished he hadn't even told Miss Princeton he would think about it.

"I trust this is within your abilities?"

Harry nodded. He could control his own magic sufficiently to do what she asked, but did he _want_ to do it? "Yes, Professor." It seemed he had no choice.

"Is there anything else?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Professor. Thank you for your time."

------------------------------

After his visit with McGonagall, Harry walked up to the Hospital Wing to see Ginny. He waited quietly while she treated a burn on a second year Hufflepuff (Harry couldn't remember the name off the top of his head) that probably came from a misfired spell. She washed her hands clean of the lotion she was applying then turned to smile at Harry. He wanted to kiss her, but they had decided to keep their relationship quiet for the moment. The Hogwarts rumor mill seemed to work twice as fast when Harry Potter was involved.

"Hey," she greeted, then her brow furrowed. "What's wrong?"

Harry glanced at her patient. "I'll tell you later. How long are you here?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I have some things to research, and a paper to write."

Harry snorted. "Sounds like school again."

"That's what it feels like." Ginny sighed. Harry slipped his arms around her, letting her lean against him. He hoped the twelve year old was too young to grasp the concept of his and Ginny's relationship. Harry could tell she was already exhausted, and it wasn't even dinner time.

"I'll let you get back to work; I don't you to be here any longer than you have to." He gave her a smile before leaving to go back to Gryffindor tower.

------------------------------

_"No...please...just kill me..." A woman cowers on the dungeon floor, begging. The man walks toward her, his footfalls echoing death on the hard stone floor. His smile is grim, but his voice is menacing._

_"I think not. It's time I returned a few favors." The black cloaked man raises his wand, pointing it directly at the woman. "Crucio."_

_The woman screams and moans in pain, jerking like a fish out of water. Her arms and legs bend in unnatural ways, her eyes roll back into her head, and she hits her head on the cold floor as she falls. The man watches her, motionless and silent. Cold fury laces his eyes and flows from his wand, which never lets up. Minutes pass, and the man has not moved or spoken, and the woman's voice is starting to give out. Her screams are hoarse and constant, but too weak to echo any longer. Only a noise from the other side of the dungeon distracts the man._

_"Reducto!"_

_The man only just jumps out of the way, a wall behind him disappearing in a deafening blast. He turns toward his assailant, another dark robed form with his wand extended. He thinks nothing before acting._

_"Avada Kedavra!" His wand marks the intruder as the target. A flash of green light, a rush..._

"Harry!" A girl was shaking his shoulders vigorously, trying to wake him. Harry Potter jolted awake in a cold sweat, red filling his vision. His arms shot up and grabbed the girl by her shoulders and threw her down under him, pulling his wand from under his pillow and aiming it at her chest before he stopped and saw a face he loved.

"...Harry?" By now, Ginny was scared, but she didn't try to get away. Her safety wasn't her concern - Harry was. He loomed over her, his eyes out of focus, but he'd stopped for the moment. Ginny simply looked up at him, trying to find his gaze. Finally, he collapsed on top of her, his body almost crushing her beneath him. Ginny sucked in a breath in surprise, but her arms didn't hesitate to wrap around him, even as his sweat rubbed off into her nightclothes.

"Harry, it's okay." She tried to calm him by running her hands along his bare back, but nothing could stop him from whispering into her ear, telling her all the things he knew he'd done wrong to her, and how he would never do anything to hurt her ever again. If he had been able to think about it, he would have realized he was repeating that night with Hermione, only with Ginny this time. He didn't even seem to be aware of her consoling; he just dissolved into tears and cried himself to sleep after he couldn't think of anything more. It was a long while before Ginny could follow him.

------------------------------

_This is strange, _Harry thought upon waking very early next morning. A quick flutter of his eyelids told him the soft body in his arms was Ginny Weasley, and that she was also the odd breath-like feeling against his chest. Harry had never woken up with another body in his arms, but he immediately liked it.

He didn't want to wake her, but his pressing need to use a toilet overpowered him. She stirred as he slid his arms from around her, but as far as Harry could tell she slept through it. One of the best things about having a teacher's room was the private bathroom that came with it, even if he had to share it with a girl. Harry wondered vaguely how much Ginny had pretended she knew about his alcohol problem to get McGonagall to put her in his room.

Now that he thought about it, didn't McGonagall see them at the wedding? She had to know about their relationship; why would she allow them to sleep in the same room? Maybe it was just damage control - Harry could easily see him using his invisibility cloak to sneak in to see Ginny at very odd hours. Harry washed his face and brushed his teeth, pushing his thoughts out of his mind. It didn't really matter why - he wasn't about to complain.

She was still wrapped up in his bed when he came back into the sleeping area of the suite, though now her eyes tracked him with a sleepy smile.

"You okay?" she asked. Harry turned toward her, confused.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Ginny shifted her body to completely face him before answering. "You had a pretty bad nightmare last night, and I just wondered if everything was okay?"

Harry wondered briefly if this was what marriage was like in the morning. He'd have to write Hermione about it. "I did? I don't remember anything after falling asleep. I don't even remember when you came in." Harry had gone straight to bed after dinner, unable to talk to Ginny. She'd apparently been tied up with an emergency in the hospital wing involving two Slytherins and a trip into the Forbidden Forest. Some people never learned.

Ginny sighed softly. That had been the one thing she'd hoped he wouldn't say. She wanted him to remember her coming to him in the middle of the night when he needed her. "It was pretty bad. You attacked me when I woke you up." A horrified expression crossed Harry's face, so she quickly added, "But you didn't hurt me. I think you thought I was something from your dream."

The dream. Harry remembered all of that, but not because of last night. He'd had that dream before, multiple times. It didn't end where she'd woken him...Harry was thankful he didn't have to live it all over again. He must have spaced out, because he didn't notice Ginny rise until her arms slid around his torso and her head rested against his chest. Her hair felt soft against his skin and her body felt solid in his arms. _This is what it feels like to be loved,_ Harry realized. No wonder Ron wanted to be with Hermione every second.

_Wait...where's my shirt? _He always slept with a shirt. Ginny must have taken it off, as it was laying on the floor next to his bed, but that made him very uncomfortable. He wished he could remember why he'd allowed her to do something like that.

"Harry...can I ask you something?"

He looked down at her, his nose touching the top of her head. "You can ask me anything."

"What do you have nightmares about?"

Harry tensed, and she must have felt it. "Don't answer if you don't want to...I don't want to pry." She looked up at him, not the Ginny he knew at all. This was a softer, concerned, almost passive Ginny, with all of her attention on Harry. Love did strange things to people, even if she had never admitted she was, in fact, in love.

"No...I need to talk to someone about it...it's just really hard. They're about a time in my life that I don't want to remember."

Ginny nodded, knowing he was talking about something that had happened during his hunt for the Dark Lord. Ron and Hermione had some pretty horrifying tales, but she could imagine it was nothing to what Harry had been through. They had told her that Harry made the final push himself, not allowing anyone to follow him, but they'd refused to give any more details beyond that.

"Harry, it's okay. Tom is dead, and he's not coming back. I didn't die in the war like you were afraid of, and you'll always have me, even if you have nothing else."

Something clouded his eyes, something that caused him to loosen his arms around her, as if he'd lost the will to keep them there. Ginny could tell that he was thinking, and she let him move off into his own world. She had things to think about too...like what he'd said to her last night. Most of the things were small, and she hadn't even realized that he held guilt over them, but some of the things they really needed to work out, and some of the things he shouldn't have felt guilty at all over.

"Did Ron and Hermione ever tell you what happened after we found him?"

Ginny shook her head. "I don't even think they know...they said you took him down by yourself."

Harry nodded, obviously straining to remember. Ginny pulled on him, leading him over to sit on the bed, knowing if he started, he wouldn't want to stop until it was all over. She pushed his back against the headboard, crawling up beside him and laying her head on his shoulder and an arm across his chest. He looked down at her gratefully.

"When we found him, he was staying at the Malfoy manor." Ginny did her best not to curse. That was probably the one place Harry never thought he'd set foot in his life. "Ron, Hermione, and I knew he was there, though we didn't tell the rest of the Order, or anyone else for that matter. We just set off on our own, knowing that if we waited for the Order to come up with something, Tom would be gone. There were Death Eaters standing guard around the manor, which the three of us took out easily. Those were the prisoners that came back. When it came time to enter the manor itself, I forced Ron and Hermione to stay back and watch over the Death Eaters we had stunned. I didn't give them a choice...I threatened to stun them too if they tried to follow..." He trailed off, and Ginny gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

"It's all right, Harry. No one but you would stand a chance against Tom anyway. I know they don't hold it against you." It was clear he was punishing himself. He had to take a calming breath before continuing.

"So they stayed behind while I entered the manor. By this time, I knew I was one of the most powerful wizards in the world." He struggled to say that, and Ginny smiled at his modesty. She loved that about him. "So I went hunting. And that's exactly what it was. A slaughter." He shuddered as memories started to come back to him. "I stopped using stunners, Ginny. I turned to the Killing Curse." His eyes were vacant by this point, and he barely heard Ginny gasp. "I don't even remember specifics; I just worked my way through, killing and destroying everything in my path. I found a way into the dungeons; I remember thinking Tom must be there, because I had to speak Parseltongue just to get inside."

Ginny tightened her hold on him, her usual cheer gone. She never knew he'd held this much inside of him - certainly, Ron and Hermione had never said anything if they knew. She was pretty sure he'd never told anyone; the anguish in his eyes was proof of that.

"On the way, I met Bellatrix Lestrange." His voice turned to pure ice as he spoke of her. She had murdered Sirius and Remus, tortured Neville's parents into insanity, as well as a thousand other crimes that should not be mentioned. Every Weasley and Hermione knew that if he ever met that particular Death Eater again, it would get bloody. Harry's eyes looked down at Ginny's face, searching. Ginny met them, knowing something was coming, something Harry thought he could never forgive himself for.

"I had used both the Imperius Curse and the Killing Curse on Death Eaters before, so I knew I was going to Azkaban no matter what happened. But when I saw her, I was angry. Angry enough to finally use the third curse. I tortured her Ginny. I tortured her like she did Neville's parents. In the end, I don't think she could even move. I tortured her past when her voice gave out. At least three Death Eaters must have walked in on us...it made no difference. I killed them then went back to torturing. And you know what I did after that? I left her there. I left her to feel the pain and suffering, the insanity she had brought upon so many people. The worst of it is, I didn't care. I felt _good._ I..." Harry couldn't continue any longer. He broke down again, crying softly into Ginny's hand, which was now stroking his cheek. His eyes were lost in some vision, no doubt of Lestrange's useless body sprawled on the dungeon floor. Ginny had no idea how to respond...she didn't think Harry had been capable of such a thing. She didn't think any less of him - everyone had hated Bellatrix - but his guilt was something she didn't know how to deal with.

"Harry...it will be okay, I promise. I don't love you any less than I did when I came to you in the middle of the night and woke you, because I thought you needed me." It was out before Ginny could stop herself, and it jerked Harry back to reality. She'd finally said she loved him, after knowing each other for eight years. "I love you Harry, and nothing is ever going to change that."

Something besides alcohol or sleeping potions finally took his mind off the guilt. Harry had known since their first kiss over two years ago that they were in love, but it was something completely different to hear it aloud, and have the one you love tell you they love you back. It was like a confirmation, like a promise that everything _was_ going to be okay, because they would be together and bound by love. He knew in that instant that they would never separate, never leave each other, and anything that came between them would get worked out.

"I love you too, Ginny." He'd been burning to say those words forever. It was like a great weight off his chest, and now even his eternal guilt could not stop a deep-seeded happiness from welling up inside him. Ginny crawled on top of him and leaned down to kiss him, as if to prove it wasn't all a dream. They locked together for what seemed like hours, but Ginny finally had to let up, breathing heavily to replace the air she'd given up for him.

"I know you feel guilty over what you did, and I know you think you can't forgive yourself, but please, promise me something. Promise me you'll never shut me out again, that you'll let me help you. Maybe you were the only wizard who could kill Tom, but you don't have to live alone forever. I don't want to be anywhere else but with you, and I want you to promise you'll never make me live without you again."

Harry would have promised her anything just then. "I promise, Ginny. I can't push you out of my life, because you are my life now." Something about opening up to her made him feel as though that were the truth, that he needed her more than ever, that she was one person he could trust with his darkest secrets. He'd never even told Hermione what happened that night, why he'd come out with months of magical exhaustion ahead of him. He'd been waiting for this, for someone who could hold him and love him, who could understand the feelings of loneliness in his heart, and who could banish those feelings with a single kiss.

Nothing could have broken that moment for them. The entire school could have burst in and they wouldn't have noticed. They fell back asleep together, knowing neither of them had anything to do on that particular Sunday. And if they did, it could wait, because neither of them would move a muscle in the next seven hours.

------------------------------

"Harry?" Ginny mumbled into his chest. They had both been awake for a few minutes, but neither of them had wanted to break the peaceful silence. It was a moment before he answered.

"Yes?"

"We both need a shower."

That was unexpected. Of all the things she could have said, that was it? "Er...okay?"

Ginny giggled lightly against him. Their sleep had been refreshing like none other - it almost felt like it had been enchanted. "It's your fault."

Harry slid a hand through her hair, relishing the softness of it. "And how is that?" His voice was just starting to lose the sleepiness that had held it.

"You looked like you had just got done with an eight hour Quidditch game when I woke you last night." She said this slowly, almost dreamily. She was almost wide awake now, but so comfortable.

Harry realized what she was talking about. "Er - yeah. That happens when I have a bad nightmare." He sighed softly. "I'm sorry you have to live with this, with my past."

Ginny's head moved so she could stare directly into his eyes. "Harry, I don't want to hear it. I'm here for you whether you want me to be or not. I want to be, and you know how I am when I want something." Sometimes a little force was best for dealing with him.

He smiled weakly, unable to fight her. She sounded so brutally honest. "Since when did you get a soft side?"

That did it. She rolled her eyes, lifting herself off him. "Don't expect it, Potter." She poked his stomach then pointed toward the shower. "Now get."

Harry waggled his eyebrows, her playfulness infecting him. "Care to join me?"

She slapped his chest, but the sting was pleasant. "Maybe when I'm old enough so you won't stare the whole time."

Harry rose, walking over and leaning against the bathroom door as he thought of a response. "What's wrong with staring?"

She pointed again. "Shower. Now." _Absolutely nothing, Harry._ Ginny thought with a smile. _Nothing at all._

------------------------------

"I want a two foot essay on non-verbal spells by the next time you see me. Class dismissed. Miss Princeton, if you could stay behind, I'd like a word." Harry had looked up her real name - Rebecca - but he figured the farther he was from his students, the better. Or maybe it was just McGonagall's influence.

She appeared in front of him, though Harry noticed another sixth-year Ravenclaw waiting for her by the door. That came as a relief to him - most witches and wizards who were of questionable merit didn't have close friends. She looked up at him attentively, waiting.

"The Headmistress has agreed to allow me to teach you to counter the Imperius Curse. However, you must understand that I am not here to teach you how to perform it."

She nodded. "Yes, Professor. Thank you." Enormous relief passed over her features, and against Harry was troubled by the whole idea. Why was she so relieved? Did she have something in her past that made her afraid of being Imperiused?

"You will meet with me at eight o'clock tonight in my office, and subsequent Mondays until you master it. The lessons will not be long, perhaps a half hour, so you don't need to worry about taking up your nights." Harry smiled as he remembered some of his own nights at Hogwarts - they had been very eventful.

"Yes, Professor. Is that all?"

Harry nodded, noticing a slight sound behind him. As the Ravenclaw left, Harry shut the door behind her with his wand. "_Accio Invisibility Cloak_," he said, revealing a very surprised Ginny Weasley creeping up behind him. "You'll have to do better than that, Weasley."

She glared at him, more in embarrassment than anything else. "How did you know?"

Harry laughed. "Invisibility doesn't make you silent Ginny. There's an art to using that cloak properly." He pulled the hood over his head, but let the rest hang behind him so he appeared headless. Even Ginny had to smile.

"How did you ever get this job? I know the students love you, but you're so..." She couldn't think of the right word. "...childish."

Harry gave her a playful glare, though she couldn't see it. "I'm not childish, and a bit of fun never hurt anyone. Why do you have this anyway?"

"I was cleaning up the room and I found it under your bed. You really should hide it better if you don't want me using it."

Harry laughed and pulled her down onto his lap. That was one good thing about Ginny being as small as she was - she could hang all over him without causing a bit of discomfort. She reached up and pulled the cloak off of his head.

"That's too weird, I can't talk to you like that."

"Who said I needed you to talk?"

Ginny smirked. "That's right, all you need is a pretty face to snog." She leaned down to brush his lips with hers.

"Only if her name is Weasley," Harry replied, leaning up into her, giving her the soft kiss she had grown to love in the weeks since they'd come to Hogwarts.

"You know, Hermione's name is Weasley too." Ginny noted as Harry sucked on her upper lip. He promptly stopped at mention of his best friend's name.

"You really know how to ruin a moment, don't you?"

She laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder and turning her hips to face him. "So you've never kissed her?"

Harry shook his head. "I love her to death, but eww."

Ginny sniggered. "Nice to know I'm the only girl in your life." She looked down at his chest, not wanting him to see the slightly doubtful look in her eyes. He noticed anyway.

"Ginny, I am yours and yours alone." Harry sighed softly. "I know you may think differently because of all the years I was around you and didn't want you, and because I left you to go find Tom, and because of this summer, but I promise none of that will ever happen again. I know where I want to be now."

She looked up at him, sliding a hand around the side of his neck. "I really want to believe you Harry, I do, but after you kissed Gabrielle it was like seeing you with Cho all over again."

Harry had been waiting for that to come up ever since he'd done it. She had yelled at him for it in front of the entire family, but that wasn't going to help with her feelings of security. He'd come up with an answer, and he hoped she would accept it.

"I know Jared still goes here...but I also know I can trust you even if you two were alone. I don't expect you to trust me like that, but know that if you ever do, I won't hurt you again."

Yesterday, she probably wouldn't have believed him. But after what had happened last night, and after this morning, Ginny could feel herself starting to come around. She wasn't quite there yet, but she knew it wouldn't be long. She'd always admired his honor and bravery, and there was no reason that honor shouldn't apply to their relationship.

"Jared is some stupid American who is probably going to transfer back to the States and live there for the rest of his life. You don't have to worry about him."

Harry saw his chance. "Stupid American huh? So is that why you dated him for two years, because he's stupid and not worth it?" He understood Ginny's feelings about Gabrielle because of his own about her ex-boyfriend.

"You really want to know why I dated him? Because I knew he was American, and to be with him I'd have to move to America, and I knew I wouldn't do that. So even if I did get attached to him, I couldn't be with him, and when I left school, I would still be available for you."

Harry wasn't sure whether that was really sweet or really stupid. If Hermione hadn't forced him, he probably never would have come back to his friends. "You really had your heart set on me, didn't you?"

Ginny nodded slowly and laid down on his chest. "I was always thinking about you Harry. I know I expected you to at least be there to see me when I got off the train this summer."

A pang of guilt ran through Harry's system. He should have been. All of this could have been avoided.

"I'm sorry about that...I did a lot of stupid things in the year after I killed Tom. I needed some time to recover, but I was never able to deal with things, I just avoided them. I was lucky Hermione never lost hope. I think her loyalty would have impressed Helga Hufflepuff herself."

Ginny smiled. "Harry, don't worry about what you should have done...worry about making me happy now. Because that's your job, you know."

"My job? Since when did I agree to that?"

"Since you decided to snog me in front of my whole family. Pretty stupid really." She poked his stomach playfully.

"Oh? Well, I guess that's not too bad, you're not hard to please. You know, just give you a boy to put your hands on, and you're happy."

Ginny gaped. "Harry! You're as bad as the twins!"

"I'll take that as a complement."

Ginny growled softly. "I'll somehow remember my promise not to snog you."

"That's okay, I can make you." Harry sniggered at the torn look on her face.

"I have been wondering about that...why did you use it on me? I really didn't think you would...it's just not right."

Harry squirmed as much as possible without knocking Ginny out of his lap. He really hadn't been thinking at the time, he just did it. Looking back, he couldn't really give a good reason why. "I don't know Ginny, you were just daring me, and I couldn't resist. You know I hate it when people tell me I can't do things."

Ginny laughed. "Yeah, I guess I did ask for it. I must have been crazy too...you could have done so much to me." Her thoughts slipped back to what he'd said about not knowing how much control he had over her. His discomfort at the thought did make her feel better; she'd liked it, but after their conversation with Hermione had sunk in, she didn't think it was something she wanted to try again soon.

Harry thought about what she was implying, wondering if she actually thought he would do something like that. He wouldn't, but maybe she wasn't completely sure. It bothered him a little that she could think that of him, but he knew that was a lot to ask, knowing what the curse was usually used for. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to do it again. He quickly pushed the thought from his mind and looked back up at Ginny, noting the soft smile on her lips.

"Are you going to come down and bother me every Monday like this? I have work to do you know."

Ginny rolled her eyes and sat up, adjusting her legs so they were on either side of him so they wouldn't fall asleep and she could sit back on his knees. "You better start working on your other job, you know. You'll never be able to teach if your girlfriend isn't happy."

"Oh? I wasn't aware my girlfriend wasn't happy. Have you talked to her?"

Ginny scowled and hit his chest as he shook with laughter. "That's not funny Harry." But she couldn't say it with conviction. "Fine, I'll just take what makes me happy." She leaned forward to kiss him, her lips sealing his and shutting off his laugh. Her hands laced up into his thick black hair, pulling his head slightly into her as she tilted hers to the side and parted his lips with her tongue. Harry's hands slipped up to her waist, grabbing her tightly as his back arched slightly up into her. He reached into her robe and pulled out her wand, waving it at the door and locking it before she pinned his wrists to the chair and kissed her way down his jaw to his neck, where she sucked on his skin and bit softly.

"Ginny..." Harry said, trying to keep a level head. "I'm supposed to go meet Flitwick in like five minutes."

She finished a kiss on his neck before replying. "Then he'll just have to wait, because your girlfriend needs you." Her lips slipped up to his before he could say any more; though Harry wasn't entirely sure he would have said anything. He had five minutes, and he was going to make the most of them.

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_**A/N:** A little short, I know, but I didn't feel right ending it anywhere else. Given the significant step that Harry and Ginny have taken in their relationship, I'm sure you won't be too disappointed with the chapter. xP_


	8. Confidence

_Author's Note: Reviews, please? I hate to sound pushy, but I'd like to know if people like my story. I'm going to write it either way, but it's nice to know what other people think, even if they don't like it._

_I would, however, like to thank those of you who do. I have taken more than one idea into consideration from them, and even learned a few things. So thank you to those of you who do, because you're what keeps me posting and not just writing for myself._

_Okay, I'm done now. I'll try not to bother you with such things again. That said, on to the chapter!_

_-_JS

**Disclaimer: **I also do not own the movie "Click", Ginny's last question in the chapter is a direct quote from that movie. No copyright violation is intended.

* * *

**_Chapter Eight: Confidence_**

Harry supposed it could have been worse. As it was, he would have to wait until the end of the school year to put another Fidelius Charm over Grimmauld Place, after the second anniversary of Dumbledore's death. He would have liked to re-charm the place over Christmas, but Dumbledore wanted to give the Order plenty of time to get out of the Headquarters in the event of his death. With that out of the way, he turned his mind to more pressing matters - like his private lessons with Miss Princeton. McGonagall hadn't said anything about them being supervised - surely even she didn't trust him that much - and besides, she was the Headmistress of Hogwarts. She was responsible for the students' safety, regardless of her trust for him.

Not that Harry particularly desired to be alone with her. He knew Ginny still didn't trust him, not completely, and he felt the need to prove himself to her. Not because he thought he wasn't getting what he deserved, but because knew she had every right not to. It hurt every time she kissed him, every time she wrapped around him, looking so peaceful. It hurt because he knew underneath it all, there was a sliver of doubt, a shade of hesitation, and he wanted better than that for her.

The solution came to him after lunch, while eating a bit of Honeyduke's best chocolate. The Marauder's Map. She would be able to tell where he was, who he was with, and if she should she could come see what he was up to. It wasn't so much the actual map as a sign of trust, but Harry hoped that it would work. Of course, Ginny didn't know about it, but she would soon. Harry checked his watch, sighing. He didn't have enough time before his first class.

-------------------

"Ginny," Harry said, grabbing the girl's attention from her quill and parchment. She looked up, quite annoyed. Harry kept the hand with the map behind hid back. "Are you angry with me?" She'd left him at Flitwick's door before lunch, looking quite happy, and he hadn't seen her since, but somehow he felt it was his fault.

"No, Harry." She closed her eyes and held her head in her hands in a cross of frustration and exhaustion. "I'm just a little overworked. By my own choice," she hastily added, before Harry marched off to have a few words with Madam Pomfrey. "I have a long-term patien...er...assignment that is stressing me out."

Harry frowned. Now was definitely not the time to bring up the map, especially when she was keeping something from him.

"What are you doing that has you so exhausted?" This wasn't the first time he'd noticed her exceptional fatigue - normally she was so active and vibrant, but when she came in at night, she was out five minutes after laying down. It hadn't been like this before the students arrived, but he'd just figured she was busier with actual patients.

"It's nothing, Harry. I couldn't tell you if I wanted to. It's not my decision." She looked scared, so Harry left it alone. He assumed it had to do with a patient of hers, and it wasn't any of his business, but still...shouldn't they be able to tell each other everything?

"McGonagall is making me give Miss Princeton Imperius lessons," Harry said, thinking of something else he'd decided during lunch. He'd found Ginny in a dark corner of the library, so they didn't have much chance of being overheard. The only reason he'd been able to find her was the map.

"_What?!_" Ginny looked positively stunned - even more so than he'd expected. She slammed her book shut, looking frantic as well. "I need to talk to McGonagall." She rose, but Harry caught her arm.

"What is it?"

"Harry, don't. I need to go." She broke out of his arm and hurried out of the library. Harry was too stunned to even attempt to follow her.

-------------------

_Ginny,_

_I'm giving Miss Princeton her lesson in my office at eight. Please be there, you know where my cloak is._

_Harry._

He'd left the note on her bed just after she'd ran off, and hadn't turned to the room since. He did know she'd gotten it, because the map showed her in their room at one point, but as of the moment only silence accompanied him. He had left the door open for her, but either she had learned to be amazingly sneaky, or she hadn't come.

"I'm sorry I'm late Professor! Peeves tried to lock me in a broom closet!" The Ravenclaw girl stirred him from his thoughts even as he offered a soft smile.

"Don't worry, Miss Princeton. This is not a class on being on time, though if it were, I believe you should study more." She flushed a little at the rebuke, but said nothing. Harry noticed a black tabby cat slip into the room, almost unnoticed. It was a familiar tabby cat, especially considering he sounded a bit like McGonagall when rebuking his student. Harry relaxed a bit; the Headmistress would be overseeing the lessons herself. He took a moment to pull over his Professor mask again, trying hard to remember how all of his other professors had addressed him. Lupin had given him private lessons on the Patronus Charm, but one of his father's best friends was hardly any comparison.

"Please have a seat." He waved her to a chair on one side of the room, following her to take another across from it. There was a small table between them, but not quite as large as his desk. She immediately complied, putting her books under her chair and looked over at him. Her flush was starting to disappear, and Harry thought he could see terror on her features, even as she tried to keep a neutral expression. _Maybe she had a bad experience with the Imperius Curse before and McGonagall knows_, Harry thought. That could explain a lot, and if that was true, it was best to not just put her under, and not ask if she'd felt the curse before.

"Miss Princeton, I cannot guarantee success right away, or even soon. All I ask is that you be patient, and to not doubt yourself. The fastest way to be controlled by the Imperius Curse is to already not have control of yourself."

She nodded, apparently unable to speak. Harry again worried about her apparent lack of confidence, but it wasn't his place to say anything.

"If at any time you want to end the lesson, or stop taking them permanently, just let me know. I won't think any less of you. Also, do not think that I will put you under the curse and expect you to break it before I lift it. Your experience under the curse at any given time will be very short." If there was one thing he'd finally learned from Hermione, it was that being prepared with exact points to talk about made talking a whole lot easier.

"Yes, Professor." She seemed slightly relieved, but not so much to be very noticeable.

"Also, I cannot guarantee this, but I'm going to try to keep you aware of your surroundings while you are under the curse. Typically when the Imperius Curse is used, the target is put into a type of trance, in which you feel happy and when a voice commands you to do something, you cannot help but do it." She nodded, not at all surprised. Harry thought this confirmed his earlier suspicion.

"But, I'm not going to use it on you right away. I want you to learn some of the theory, not because I think it will be a foolproof method of learning, but because I want to give you every shot at breaking it as fast as possible."

A thankful look passed over her and quickly put back under wraps, but it was enough for Harry to feel better. It was clear that she had something in her past that made her deathly afraid of the curse.

He spent the next fifteen or so minutes teaching her how the curse worked, and the magical theory that made it possible, and she seemed to become less and less tense the more bookwork they got through. She was a Ravenclaw, after all. Finally, Harry looked up at her and gave her a (what he hoped to be) comforting smile.

"I think it's time to see if you can put all this to use." Instantly, the fear and tension returned to her face in full force. Harry pretended like he hadn't noticed, but this time was so blatant it was hard to pretend. "I'm going to put you under for a maximum of fifteen seconds. I'm going to try to make you walk over to my desk and back, sitting right back in that chair. I want you to do anything you think might stop me."

She nodded, slightly. "Al..All right." She did everything she could not to cringe as Harry pulled out his wand.

"_Imperio._"

He instantly hated the feeling. She was so vulnerable, so weak. It was nothing for him to suggest to her to stand up, to start her walking toward the desk. With Ginny, it had been different. He knew Ginny would have put up a fight against him, and he would have had to break her if she hadn't allowed him to influence her. But the black-haired girl in front of him was so easy, and he knew there was no way he could keep her aware. She just bent to his every whim. She walked slowly back to her chair, under Harry's influence, and as she sat down, Harry was once again regretting his decision to teach her. He lifted the curse, and she looked up at him with soft tears in her eyes.

"I couldn't do a thing...anything at all..."

Harry knew she needed something, but he couldn't console her like a friend. She barely knew him. "Miss Princeton, I hate to be self-centered, but I am a very powerful wizard. You shouldn't expect too much."

She nodded, though looked hardly comforted. The logic of it appealed to her inner Ravenclaw, but there seemed to be an emotional block there. Harry wondered how long it would take her even to summon up the courage to try to resist him.

"Please...do it again..."

Harry almost refused, seeing as how it was tearing her apart, but one look told him if he didn't, she would be even worse off. If she couldn't show confidence in herself, she needed all she could get from Harry.

"I'm going to do something a little different. You see that quill over there?" He gestured toward the quill Ginny had given him for his birthday, and she nodded. "I'm going to try to make you bring it here. If there's anything, anything at all you can do to stop me, do it."

She nodded, never taking her eyes off Harry's wand as he raised it again. "_Imperio._"

Again, Harry was astounded by her weakness. Maybe it was because he'd practiced on Death Eaters, but she just seemed like she had nothing to fight him at all. She picked up the quill, and faltered as Harry noticed something he hadn't before. It was weird...he'd never felt anything like it, and it distracted him. None of the Death Eaters had felt like that, and Ginny hadn't either. He wasn't even sure it _was _Miss Princeton that he was feeling. Something was different about using the Imperius Curse on her, and he hadn't the faintest clue what it was. Harry quickly regained control, moving her back to the desk, but he couldn't help but wonder. His thoughts were pushed aside when a smile greeted his lifting of the curse.

"I...I felt...something. Almost like I knew what I was doing!" She seemed so happy, so proud that Harry didn't have the heart to tell her that he'd been distracted. He was already trying to keep almost all of the power of the curse off her, and when he'd slipped, he'd almost lost the connection.

"That's great! I did notice you stopped after you picked up the quill for a moment, was that when?"

She nodded, a hopeful look in her eyes. It nearly crushed Harry. "Well, I think that's good progress for tonight. I know you probably have things to attend to." That drew a slightly disappointed look from her - she'd clearly wanted to go again - but leaving on a good note was important to Harry.

"Thank you for your time, Professor."

Harry nodded. "I'll see you next Monday, same time?"

She gave him a half-smile, though Harry could tell she was still dwelling on her victory. "I'll be here."

She left, followed rather stealthily by the black cat. Harry wondered if McGonagall knew he knew she was there. In any case, he hadn't felt Ginny enter the room, and by the time he got to the map in his desk, her dot was between the Great Hall and Gryffindor Tower. She could have been just heading up from dinner.

-------------------

It was a while before Harry could force himself to return to his and Ginny's room - the map showed that she was there. He guessed she was sleeping, but he didn't want to take the chance. There was something bothering her, something that she couldn't tell him about. Whatever she'd run to McGonagall about hadn't been life-threatening, or he'd have heard about it by now.

So instead he went to the Library, and specifically to the Restricted Section of books. That was the one section he'd never been able to view to his leisure, and after the Blacks' extensive library, browsing these books was nothing. Harry didn't know what attracted him about the books; certainly, he wasn't interested in performing Dark Arts, but it was more the advanced magic that drew him. He wondered if McGonagall hadn't given him this teaching position what he would be doing, and if that something wouldn't have included experimental magic. It would have been dangerous, for sure, but he really hadn't cared much about anything at that point. McGonagall was like that...maybe she knew he needed something to do.

Even then, he wasn't able to concentrate well. Something had been different about Miss Princeton, something he couldn't understand. She'd been so vulnerable, so easy to control. Perhaps she knew this, and that was why she wanted help fighting it. Harry knew the probable cause of her weakness – she had no confidence in her ability to throw off the curse, and no faith in herself. He'd seen it in class as well – she knew the answer to almost every question he'd asked, and yet she never raised her hand. He would have to call on her before getting a weak, unconfident answer out of her, which was always correct despite her misgivings.

Maybe it was something about Ravenclaws that was so brilliant, but Harry didn't think so. That particular house may get better marks than anyone else, but even they weren't Hermione-like in their studies. Harry had often wondered why Hermione hadn't been sorted into Ravenclaw, but he'd gotten his answer during the war. She'd shown courage more so than even Harry himself, always being by his side, always supporting him, always finding a way to keep him on his feet. Ron had been the epitome of loyalty, ready to jump in front of a Killing Curse for him, ready to do whatever he asked blindly. Harry wondered why they hadn't been the heroes of the war, and not him. All he had was luck and a bit of magic from his mother.

His mother. What he wouldn't give to see her for just five minutes, even if she never returned. Everyone always said he had her eyes, but he'd never seen for himself; the best he could get was a picture, thanks to Voldemort. Deep down, he longed to know Lily in a way he never longed to know James. It was just what everyone said about her, how they all remembered her – she must have been an angel on earth. Harry knew people saw his father in him, and though the map, the Invisibility Cloak, and his Patronus, he thought he'd touched a part of James Potter. That wasn't so for Lily. The only thing he had was her eyes, and a lot of good that did him. Eyes didn't get him a mother's love.

Harry suddenly found himself longing to fly. It was dark out, and surely no one would approve, but what could they say? It wasn't like Death Eaters were waiting outside for him, and he could defend himself if it came to that. He'd probably been Hogwarts greatest Seeker in his school years, however interrupted they might have been by other events.

He headed down to the Quidditch pitch, the warm air buffing him softly. Flying was something in his life that he loved, and though he'd been grounded quite a few times, his love for it had never wavered. It was like his love for Ginny. Even when he'd been avoiding her, almost ignoring her letters, trying to get her out of his life, he'd loved her. He'd been misguided (Hermione finally got to him), but it didn't change the fact that he loved her. His Firebolt was upstairs in his trunk – not a problem to get, though he didn't want to face Ginny yet. Instead, he pulled something out of his sleeve, something he hadn't needed to do in five years.

"_Accio Firebolt!_"

It took a minute, but the broom finally came zooming out. He hoped Ginny had been asleep and hadn't noticed; he'd done the charm gently enough that it wouldn't have made a noise on the way out. It was too much to hope it hadn't been spotted, but Harry didn't care. Flying broomsticks were hardly something that couldn't be explained. The broom zoomed softly into his hand, still feeling warm to the touch. When he'd first gotten it from Sirius (even now, it was painful to think of his godfather), it had been an amazing broom. Now, it was something more. It seemed more like a mount that knew its rider, and he seemed like a rider who always took care of his mount. There had been three new Nimbus models since the Firebolt's creation, and none of them could compete with Harry.

The broom kicked off with the familiar grace, carrying Harry into the air without a hitch. It felt amazing to be in the air again. Harry no longer thought the broom responded to his thoughts…he knew. His thoughts, his hand on the broomstick, and the flight were all one. He hadn't lost any control in his years away from Quidditch, away from flying. Flying had been something he'd done during his year away from everyone when he could. He would apparate farther out into the country than any muggle would go, then mount his broom and just fly. Sometimes he would even fly over the English Channel, though the boats and international flights should have gotten him in trouble with the Ministry.

That was how it was now. He just flew. After a couple laps around the pitch, he soared off in another direction, over the Forbidden Forest. Harry had no idea what was there – he didn't even know where Hogwarts _was_. (The castle itself was Unplottable) But the wind on his face, the slight chill as he got higher, and the dampening of his robes was all familiar, and allowed him to think. And think he did – mostly about his future with Ginny. The past was something he couldn't change, but the future was something he could look forward to. At least with Ginny around, he could.

She'd acted strange when she saw him in the library, and it bothered Harry. Not so much that she'd been irritated – that was understandable – but that she hadn't come to him later to talk about it. He'd been in the Great Hall for dinner, but she hadn't been there, and had gone while she knew he was in lessons. Harry wondered if he'd done something wrong, but didn't dwell on it. The sense of freedom flying gave him was too much; he couldn't dwell on things such as that.

He must have stayed up there for hours, because the castle was completely dark when he arrived back at the Quidditch pitch. Not a light could be seen from the castle, save for one a top Gryffindor tower. Harry smiled softly at that – he remembered the late nights with Ron and Hermione in that tower. Everything had been different then…and Harry wasn't so sure he liked now so much better. It was just…different. Back then, all he'd worried about was school and Voldemort. Being an adult wasn't all it was cracked up to be, in Harry's opinion. But he wouldn't and couldn't go back for the world. What he now had with Ginny was irreplaceable, now that they'd finally worked things out.

After dismounting, he wandered around the castle aimlessly, but thoughts of his redheaded princess must have drawn him up to Gryffindor tower. The common room was almost empty, but there were a few stragglers who obviously thought a teacher wasn't going to come catch them out of bed. Most looked up nervously, as if wondering what their punishment was going to be.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to give you detention or anything." Harry smiled softly. Being in the common room after hours was hardly something he could lecture about. The couple boys playing wizard's chess smiled and went back to their game, and the two girls doing homework nervously went back to their books. It reminded him again of his days with Ron and Hermione, which brought a light to his eyes. He walked over to the girls - he was able to spot a Defense Against the Dark Arts book from a mile away.

"How's the essay coming?" He'd given the third years a homework assignment on boggarts. He hadn't had one for them to practice on like Lupin had, but an essay would do until he could find one.

The girls seemed to be overwhelmed by him, and Harry was reminded of his celebrity. It had been nice being at Hogwarts - the press wasn't allowed in due to the large numbers of underage students. Only the Head Boy and Girl were allowed to represent the student body, and they had to have scheduled interview. In a classroom setting, most of the students had remembered that he was a teacher, and treated him accordingly. He hadn't spent any time in the common room just for this reason.

"...Good..." One of them managed to squeak out, though Harry noticed there were only two lines on the paper. He gave them a reassuring smile, even though the two boys playing chess were watching enviously. Harry decided now was a good a time as any to really start getting to know the students - maybe they'd tell their friends that he wasn't as scary as people seemed to believe.

"You want to see something cool?" He crouched to their level as he said this. Maybe his childhood wasn't as gone as he might think.

That was something they didn't expect a professor to ever say, and it showed on their faces. Despite their shock, they seemed to warm up a bit and nodded.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" Harry said, his wand pointing away from the girls. He didn't need to shout it anymore - anything about Ginny was more than enough to power the spell. A silver stag erupted from the end of his wand, and galloped around the room, coming back to meet Harry and let him stroke it. All four third-years looked on in amazement as the stag faded away.

"He likes a little exercise once in a while," Harry said, grinning. He didn't actually know that was true, as it was only a projection of his own happiness, but Harry knew he needed to let his feelings show every once in a while, so it couldn't hurt.

"Can you teach me to do that?" One of the girls was brave enough to ask. Harry chuckled.

"Tell you what. You work hard for a couple of years, and when you get into my NEWT classes, I'll show you how to conjure a Patronus." For some reason, the girl's eyes lit up like he'd shared a secret, and then she showed a genuine smile.

"I will, Professor."

Harry nodded, standing again. "You won't if you don't get any sleep. That assignment isn't due tomorrow." He winked and headed over to the boys, who immediately stopped playing chess to stare up at him. Harry had this idea stirring around in his head, something reminiscent of the old days of the DA.

"My best friend was something of a chess wizard...I never got the hang of it though." Harry said. Both of the boys must have thought he was crazy, but then again, he was Harry Potter. Of course he was a little mad.

"I'm not very good either. James beats me all the time."

When Harry had first seen a dark haired boy with the name James, his heart had taken to skipping. Now, it was just a minor flash of sadness before his eyes returned to normal.

"Say...I have an idea for you boys. Want to hear it?"

The one named James nodded nervously, though Harry wondered if they would have told him no under any circumstances.

"What do you think about starting a little dueling club? You know, just for some hands-on practice and a bit of fun?"

Both of the boys' eyes lit up like Christmas had come early, but then the one not named James (his name was Geoffrey) gave him a skeptical look. "You really think that's allowed?"

Harry smiled. "I'm sure if it's overseen by a teacher," Harry gestured to himself, "It would be quite all right. After all, who would say no to Harry Potter?" He gave them a sneaky glance, which made them laugh. True as it was, Harry wondered how he'd been able to joke about his own fame. Normally he didn't want it, and hated the attention, but somehow the innocence of children brought out the best in him.

"Well then, I want you to tell everyone you know that there may be a dueling club starting, and see how much interest there is. It hasn't been that long since I've been here - if the rumors spread as fast as they used to, I should have people asking me if it's true by lunch tomorrow."

The boys grinned back up at him, positively gleeful. "We will, Professor!"

He ruffled James's hair then walked to a seemingly unremarkable torch, but after a quiet word, it moved aside along with the wall to allow him entrance to his room. Harry stepped inside, pulling off his robes and deciding just to sleep in his clothes. No doubt Ginny would lecture him, but he didn't really feel like changing.

Harry was just about to lay down in bed when he saw a note on his bedside table.

_Harry,_

_I'm sorry for the way I acted...you don't deserve it. I'm not angry at you or anything, and I don't want you to think that I'm avoiding you, but I just need to be alone. I'll talk to you tomorrow._

_Ginny_

Harry blinked. Hadn't be map said she was here in the room? He pulled it out and with a quick phrase, the map drew itself and sure enough, she was right there, her dot almost on top of his. He glanced over at her bed, looking closer this time. It was empty, and made up...except...did she really think he would fall for that? He walked over to her bed, just to make sure, and sure enough, there was a slight indentation in the shape of a body. He wiped the map, setting it on her nightstand and waving out the torch with his wand. He wondered how she'd ever gone to sleep with the lights, but when he slid down beside her and wrapped his arm around her invisible form (moving it lower when he realized exactly _what_ he wrapped his arm around), she was breathing softly and apparently unconscious.

It took her a few minutes to realize she wasn't alone, but Harry held her gently to keep her from screaming. Somehow, that particular hold told her it was him, even before she heard his voice.

"I love you Ginny."

She turned toward him (that was the only thing that could explain the motion in his arms and the weight shift on the bed) and (presumably) looked up at him.

"How did you know I was here?"

_Thanks to Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs,_ Harry thought. "You don't think I can be fooled by my own cloak, do you?" he whispered softly into her ear.

She took a moment before responding. "You didn't notice I was in the room with you and Rebecca." Harry wondered how she knew the girl's name, but he didn't think now was a good time to ask. And wait...so she was there? That was news to him.

"I had to know you were all right before I could go to bed." It was slightly awkward holding and talking to an invisible form in his arms, but something kept him from revealing her.

"Harry, I didn't have anywhere else to go. I thought you wouldn't want to see me."

Harry stared at her, because he knew he was visible. "Ginny...I would want to see you no matter what. I don't care if we're in the middle of the biggest bloody row ever, I still want you there to fight it out with. You don't know what it's like knowing you're running from me."

Her voice broke down into a weak whisper. "You should be angry with me Harry...I know you can't possibly trust me, and I should have snapped like that..."

"Ginny, I don't want you to worry about what you did...No matter what, I always want you to come to me. I might be angry, but if you tell me you can't take it, we'll deal with it some other time. Enough people are scared of me in this world, I don't need you being scared of me too."

A long silence followed. "...Harry...I just want to be perfect...I don't want you to ever have any doubts about being with me..."

A cold knife stabbed into Harry's heart, because he knew where such pressure came from. "Ginny...I don't want you to ever worry about that. I would get married tomorrow and swear a Vow to you if I thought it would make you happy and help you understand that I'm yours and yours alone."

Harry couldn't see it, but Ginny was staring at him incredulously. Had he really just said that? Was he really thinking about marrying her?

"But...I know you don't want to do that, so if there is anything I can do, anything at all that helps you realize that you are the only girl in my life, and you always will be as long as you don't leave me, tell me. I'll do it."

Harry heard a soft sigh, and felt her chest rise against his. "Harry...I would never leave you. Not for all the gold in Gringotts." That was something she'd heard her mother say to her father once.

"You shouldn't, because I own all the gold in Gringotts." Harry quipped, causing the invisible form in his arms to giggle. He might get used to this...talking to nothing was awkward at first, but it was kind of fun once he got used to it.

"You know gold doesn't mean anything to me when I have you, right?" Her voice was earnest, but Harry couldn't resist.

"Yeah, because I have all of it you'll ever need."

A hand appeared briefly to slap his chest, then retreated back under the cloak. "Harry..."

"I know Ginny. I wouldn't joke about if I didn't. To be honest, I'm not really worried about anything. I know I'm going to do my best to be the most wonderful boyfriend you've ever had, and everything else will just happen. I want you to be happy, whether or not it's with me."

He'd expected that to cheer her up, but he could almost see the frown in her voice. "Harry, no one else but you could make me happy. I want you to know that, so that if I ever do something stupid, you'll come after me, like I would for you. I waited nine years for you, Harry, and I don't regret a single one."

Harry couldn't think of a thing to say to that, so he tightened his arms around her. "Ginny...I..." she hushed him with a soft finger to his lips.

"Go to sleep. Everything will be okay in the morning."

Harry blinked, suddenly realizing how tired he was. "You sure you want to sleep with that cloak on?"

A short silence. "Yes...I...I don't want you to look at me right now. I can't stand you looking at me when you know I'm lying to you."

It took him a minute to get what she was talking about, but he finally came to it. "You're not lying to me...I wouldn't want you to betray someone's trust just for me. I know how that is." Neville's parents had taught him long ago how to keep a powerful secret.

He heard a gentle rubbing against her pillow, and assumed she was shaking her head. "One day, Harry, I'll be able to tell you anything, even things you're not supposed to know. I'll tell you because I want you to know that anything that is mine is yours, and that I have nothing from you. I'll know that you would never tell a soul."

Harry didn't know what to say to that. "I hope someday I'll be worthy of that trust."

Her hand slipped out from under the cloak to hold his cheek. "You already are, Harry. I haven't realized it yet, but you are."

He didn't believe that, but didn't say anything else. He was just about to slip off into a deep sleep when Ginny's equally sleepy voice drifted into his ears.

"Harry? Will you still love me in the morning?"

He tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind except one word.

"Always."


	9. A Presence Unmasked

**Disclaimer: **This chapter pushes the boundries of the teen rating - I am not going to move it up, because the adult themes are only suggested, and only briefly, but do beware.

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_**Chapter Nine: A Presence Unmasked**_

Word of Harry's dueling club idea spread like wildfire, and even faster than he'd suggested to the third-years. Indeed, his fourth-year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff class the next morning was already asking him when it would begin, and whether there would be a tournament. He didn't remember mentioning a dueling tournament, but then again, that's how the Hogwarts rumor mill worked. In any case, he received a visit from Professor McGonagall about it over lunch. He'd taken to eating lunch in his office; it was much quieter and gave him time to relax between morning and afternoon lessons.

"Mr. Potter? Do you have a moment?"

Huh? McGonagall was asking him for a moment? Some things would never feel quite right. "Certainly, Professor."

She entered the room, but didn't take the seat he offered. Maybe she wouldn't stay long. "I have heard that you are going to sponsor a 'Dueling Club' for the students. Is there any truth to this rumor?"

Harry did all he could not to look surprised. He'd meant to see the Headmistress after classes that day, but she'd gotten to him first. "I was going to come discuss the idea with you, to see if it would be workable. I was thinking we could have it out on the grounds to accommodate all of the children that wanted to come." Not to mention they would have a lot of room to work and didn't have to worry about destroying anything.

McGonagall didn't look pleased with the idea at all, but to her credit, she didn't judge it on first impressions. "What exactly do you plan on teaching them, Mr. Potter?"

Harry wondered if she was trying to intimidate him, and if she was, it was working. Suddenly he was wishing he'd never brought it up. "Basic survival spells, and mostly how to think on their feet. If there is one thing a classroom doesn't replicate, it's facing a real human being." _Or a Death Eater,_ Harry thought with a shiver.

"So this would be an extension of your Defense classes?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Professor. I mean that we could show them that all types of magic can be used to win, not just powerful curses. The rules don't allow students to get hands-on experience using spells against each other, even if they are simple fun jinxes."

She eyed him critically. "Do you foresee the need to have students prepared to fight each other?"

Harry's eyes widened. "No Professor! I mean..." What did he mean? All he wanted to do was have a little fun. "I mean they need to know what it's like. It seems to me that a controlled environment for them to learn is better than them trying to learn on their own." _I'm starting to sound too much like Hermione,_ Harry thought. _This teaching thing is really getting to me._

McGonagall, however, didn't have an immediate argument to that. She gave him another appraising glance, as if to buy some time. "Very well. I am going to instate a fourth-year and above restriction on participants, and if I hear one hint of problems from this, I won't hesitate to disband your 'club'."

Harry nodded, too relieved to smile. "Thank you Professor...but could we allow third years? They are allowed to go to Hogsmeade, so surely they're old enough to do something like this."

She seemed surprised by his bravery in pushing it, but she nodded curtly. "You have permission to carry on this year, but next year there will be a permission form enclosed with the yearly letters home."

Harry didn't fail to notice how she'd said next year. How did she know he wanted to stay. True, he'd told that Gryffindor girl that he would teach her the Patronus Charm in three years, but that was hardly a promise...even if it did show his inner desire to teach. As much as he tried to fight it, he knew that was why he'd been studying this past year, and why he'd accepted the job. There was something rewarding about teaching, and after the D.A. he'd longed to do it again.

"Yes Professor. Anything else?"

She left without a word, leaving Harry a scant ten minutes of quiet before his class started to arrive.

--------------------

The weeks started slipping by for Harry as they became more and more routine - well, as much of a routine you could get at a school for young magic users. Classes became second nature, even though he found interest in teaching each one; there seemed to be something magical about them. The Imperius lessons went no better than the first, though Harry allowed the young Ravenclaw to have a small victory every now and then, just to keep her from losing hope. He had no idea what her emotional block was, and he didn't think it was proper to ask. She would have to come to terms with it on her own if she wanted to learn to overthrow the curse.

His private life with Ginny was getting better. After those two nights in the same bed they'd gone back to sleeping alone, though not without minor complaint from Ginny. Harry had spent too much time with Ron to feel comfortable with taking that step in the relationship so quickly; at least, that's what he told Ginny. The real reason was he didn't feel comfortable with it because he didn't think their relationship _was _at that point yet. He never did get around to showing her the map, and there was still that element of trust she wanted to give him but couldn't. Surprisingly, it didn't bother him as much as he'd expected. He'd thought about it on one nighttime broom ride (something he'd taken to in recent weeks), and realized that he had a lifetime with her - a few months one way or another wouldn't really affect anything, and he wanted to do it right. He didn't acknowledge the fact that sleeping with Ginny (in any form) scared the bloody hell out of him, and because he didn't want to think about it, he had no idea why.

The dueling club had taken off as well, so much so that he'd started doing four nights a week and splitting the houses into two groups - Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, as well as Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Students were still banned from fighting in the corridors and under teachers' noses, but the Gryffindor common room had been home to many suspicious activities that Harry only half-heartedly tried to break up. Indeed, the Gryffindors quickly became more afraid of Ginny Weasley, because if _she_ caught someone, they'd get a nice long lecture about making more work for the hospital wing. Harry smiled in silent amusement at these lectures, but was quick to hide it when Ginny turned her glare on him.

The most disturbing thing in Harry's life was the presence he felt when using the Imperius Curse on Miss Princeton during her lessons. It had begun to grow, but Harry still had no idea what it was or why he couldn't feel it on anyone else. He'd even gone so far as to ask Ginny to let him use the curse on her again (she agreed after he explained his reasons), but the only thing he found was her tongue in his mouth. He made up his mind on the Monday before Halloween to find out what it was, and why it was there. Harry checked his watch. He'd moved the lessons up to before dinner, as she'd expressed a scheduling conflict with a study group she'd wanted to be a part of, but she was cutting her time very close.

"Hello, Professor." The Ravenclaw took her customary seat; Harry was already waiting in his. She sounded deflated - despite her "successes", she knew she was getting nowhere and looked ready to give up.

"Miss Princeton, by no means do I think you can't throw off the curse, but I don't think at this point any more theory is going to help you." She nodded, as if expecting it. Harry had even discussed his own experience with the curse in an attempt to help her, but even that hadn't changed anything. "There is something blocking you from even trying to deflect the curse, and I believe it is a fear that you haven't confronted yet. You may not be thinking about it, but your subconscious is suppressing the desire to fight the curse because it's afraid of what will happen if you do." Again she nodded, but said nothing. Harry had hoped to draw out an explanation as to why she was afraid of the curse, but it seemed that wasn't going to work.

"I'm going to put you under for a longer period of time and have you attempt various things. Maybe getting used to how the curse feels and then finding a way to fight it might help. With your permission, of course."

She nodded, and it was apparent she would try just about anything at this point. "Do whatever you think will help, Professor."

Harry nodded, showing her his wand before speaking again. He had worked hard to always show her what he was going to do and to create a comfortable environment - that had worked, at least. She seemed to trust him, even if she couldn't trust herself to fight off the curse.

"_Imperio._"

This time, even as he made her stand, Harry went right to feeling out the foreign presence. He'd avoided it as much as possible before because he didn't know what it was, but not knowing was really starting to bother him. He kept half his mind on walking Miss Princeton around the room, and half on observing the small magical presence that seemed to be a part of her. It almost felt like an extra limb to his control, though it could have been anything - the only reason Harry had thought of that was he didn't know how else to describe it. He was just about to slide his controlling presence into the "limb" when...

"NO!"

Harry felt his presence kicked out, hard. When he recovered from the violence of the counterattack, he found Miss Princeton glaring at him.

"_Why did you do that?!_"

Harry stared at her, completely baffled. "Do what?" He hardly thought it was a good time to be informing her of a foreign presence in her body. In any case, she seemed to calm slightly after taking one look over his face.

"Oh...you...you couldn't know..." She seemed to space out. "I need to go...I'm sorry about this Professor. I'll talk to you in class." She left quickly, only pausing to gather her wand and leaving Harry stunned. What was it that he'd touched, and what was that reaction? He could hardly believe it had come from his student - she hadn't shown even the slightest ability to fight him. He sat in that chair for a long while before deciding what to do.

-------------------

"Ginny!" He caught her at a dinner, sitting with a few of the Gryffindors she used to know. She looked so happy, but this was important.

"What?" She looked up at him, both confused and slightly flustered. They didn't usually hang around each other in public; it was the only way their relationship would stay quiet. Ginny had started to voice some resistance to keeping it a secret, but she had bowed to Harry's wishes.

"I need to talk to you. Alone." The other Gryffindors looked at him with part irritation for taking their friend, part interest, but they couldn't say anything to a teacher. Ginny followed him, immediately worried by his tone. He never spoke to her like that.

Harry led her out into the near deserted Entrance Hall and pushed her up against a wall so she couldn't get away. He was happy Ginny didn't get the wrong idea about the purpose of his intrusion.

"There is something wrong with Rebecca, and I need to know what it is." Ginny had finally coerced him into using her rightful name when talking between them.

"Harry..." She looked scared all of a sudden, and more than a little torn.

"Ginny, there is something about her that's not right. I'm not a healer, so I couldn't tell what it was, but there is something inside of her that _doesn't belong._"

Her face went through a mixture of shock and she almost burst into tears. Harry was unknowingly putting enormous stress on her, multiplied by the fact she _knew_ what Harry was talking about, and she could explain everything. She wanted...no...needed to tell him, but she couldn't; Rebecca had trusted her to keep a secret. Ginny made a promise then and there to never keep anything from him ever again, but she wouldn't go back on her word now. It was too important.

"Harry...please...if you want to know, go ask McGonagall."

He gave her a death glare, as if to say _You know something you're not telling me,_ but he (as calmly as he could) walked quickly back into the Great Hall and towards the staff table, drawing more than a few looks from students and teachers alike.

"Professor...can I have a word?"

McGonagall looked almost annoyed to be interrupted while taking a meal, but she didn't say a word other than to excuse herself and follow Harry into the same chamber where he'd been ushered into after the Triwizard selection. He didn't even wait for her to turn to him before speaking.

"What's wrong with Rebecca Princeton?"

For once, McGonagall looked speechless. She took a moment to compose herself, and then replied calmly, "There is nothing _wrong_ with Miss Princeton, Mr. Potter, though I'm sure you have a very good reason to interrupt my dinner?" She had been at the lesson, of course, but she didn't think Harry was aware of her observations.

"Professor, there is something inside of her, something that I have no idea what it is. I tried to figure it out, but when I tried, it threw me out of her completely. I've never felt anything like it." Harry was beginning to get desperate, and the unconcerned expression McGonagall had did nothing to convince him he shouldn't be.

"I can assure you there is nothing abnormal about Miss Princeton. If you are unable to continue teaching her because of this presence, then I'm sure she'll understand." The Headmistress turned toward the door, but Harry wasn't about to give up.

"With all due respect, _Professor,_ the safety of my students is my responsibility. If there is something I don't know about, I can't guarantee that, and I will do anything in my power to find out what exactly I don't know."

She turned back toward him and gave him a significant stare, though if he'd noticed, Harry would have found a little pride tucked behind her spectacles. He found himself joining in her surprise at his forceful response. "Mr. Potter, as I am sure Miss Weasley told you when you so forcefully pulled her from _her_ dinner-" The rebuke didn't escape Harry. "-it is not my decision to tell you anything."

Not for the first time in her presence, Harry wished he was good at Legilimency, or had Hermione there. He did have some skill in the art, but McGonagall was a superb Occlumens, which she had only gotten better at during the war. Hermione was always good at ferreting out the truth without doing anything illegal, and Harry was sure there was something he was missing. In any case, it seemed that he'd lost, so he quietly opened the door, but McGonagall's voice stopped him again, much softer this time.

"Though if you could not piece together the facts yourself, I am sure Miss Weasley would be greatly disappointed in your intelligence." Why was Ginny a part of this again? She knew what he wanted to know, but they hadn't discussed it since the first night. McGonagall ushered him out the door, her severe expression returning, but one last thing escaped before she returned to the staff table.

"You should never underestimate a mother's love, Mr. Potter, especially given your particular history." She left him standing there, wondering what that could possibly mean...then it clicked. How the presence felt, Rebecca's fear of the curse, and Ginny's shock at the idea of her lessons all came together in his mind with the last piece of information, which McGonagall had provided him. Ginny's promise to keep something from everyone, even after her little slip in the library, suddenly took on a new light. Rebecca Princeton was pregnant, and would do anything to protect her child. She would even fight the Imperius Curse, which had forced her unwanted child into existance.

-------------------

Ginny still hadn't come to bed. Harry checked his watch again - it was almost midnight. She'd left the Great Hall before he did, but she hadn't been in the room when he arrived, and she still hadn't come in. He was starting to get worried, though he knew Ginny wouldn't have wanted to talk to him after their heated argument in the hall, but he didn't think he scared her enough to not come back. Unless...

Harry rose and slid softly over to her bed, smiling grimly. Sure enough, there was the slight impression of her body weight against the blankets. He wondered for a moment whether he should just leave it alone, but something told him that if the roles were reversed, she would be on top of him in an instant. So Harry lay down next to her, wrapping an arm around her invisible form once again. He found where her head should be and laid his behind it, curling against the solidness that was her back.

"You really should stop stealing my things," he whispered, playfully. Ginny moaned softly, fidgeting under the cloak.

"I thought you'd gone to bed." She sounded almost defeated.

"I told you last time, I can't sleep unless I know you're okay."

She leaned her head back, almost breaking his nose in the process. "Sorry..." She turned to face him, though it really didn't make that much of a difference to Harry if he couldn't see her.

"You really like this cloak, don't you?"

There was a slight pause, in which she must have nodded. "There are a lot of times I just don't want to be seen."

"Me too, Ginny." Harry thought of any time a reporter had come knocking down his door. "But I don't like you hiding from me, I want to work it out, whatever is bothering you."

"Maybe I wanted you to come find me..." She revealed a hand to squeeze his, but pulled it back under the cloak. "I know it sounds stupid, but I can talk to you better when I know you can't see me. I hate disappointing you, and if you can't see me, you can't give me that look."

Harry blinked. "What look?"

"The look you get when you don't like something I've done. You gave it to me tonight, when I wouldn't tell you what you wanted. I hate that look. I hate disappointing you."

Harry closed his eyes, mostly out of resignation, but partially because he hoped it would help her feel better. "Ginny, I'm never disappointed in you. Not completely. I'm proud of you now for standing by your word no matter what I said. You wouldn't be Ginny if you didn't stand up to me."

She was silent for a minute, contemplating. "What do you mean, I wouldn't be Ginny?"

Harry took a moment to compose his thoughts. "The Ginny Weasley I know and love isn't afraid of anything...that's why she's a Gryffindor. If you backed down to me simply because I got a little upset, I would wonder what happened to you, and why you're so different."

A soft sigh came from the invisible form next to him. "Harry, I don't want to be that Ginny around you. I want to be whatever you need me to be, whatever you could possibly want. I don't want to disappoint you, and I feel like I am by not giving you what you want."

"Did you ever stop to think that you _are_ what I want? And that by changing yourself, you would only disappoint me?"

No, she hadn't thought of that. There was a lot about Harry she hadn't thought about; she'd never needed to. Now that she was with him, and apparently for the long haul, she wanted to be perfect, to be the only thing he ever needed. She couldn't possibly think he wanted the rude, stubborn, and quite common Ginny Weasley. She wanted to be something that was worth his love.

"No..."

Harry reached under the hood of the cloak, poking her nose before his hand found its way to her cheek. "Ginny, I don't want a fake girlfriend. If I wanted that, I could have any girl in the wizarding world, but I don't. I want you. I want you because you're not afraid to stand up to me, you're not afraid to cross me, you're not afraid to prove me wrong. All the reasons I came to you as a friend, I still want in you as my girlfriend. I want the fiery, stubborn, I'll hex you into next week if you look at me funny Ginny. That Ginny makes me happy."

Harry Potter was the only wizard on the planet that was capable of making one Ginevra Weasley speechless. And that he did just now. All she could do was stare back at him, back into his brilliant green eyes. How was he so patient with her? How could he love someone that would smack him as hard as she could twice for even _thinking_ about another girl?

"Harry...I'm so sorry...I know I'm a terrible girlfriend..."

He didn't even bother arguing. In one swift motion, he slipped the hood of the cloak from over her head and kissed her, right on the lips to quiet her. It was a quite unexpected motion, but not unwelcome. Ginny kissed him back weakly, still feeling horrible about her own treatment of him, but slowly succumbing to his soft, gentle lips. _Merlin, he tastes good,_ Ginny realized, and found herself on top of him, throwing off the cloak, and running one hand through the back of his hair while placing one knee on each side of his hips. His hands immediately slid up under her shirt, caressing her warm body as she licked his lips. Before he realized what she was doing, Ginny slipped down to his neck and sucked hard on his skin while grinding her hips against his pelvis. He gasped softly, his eyes fluttering uncontrollably for a moment. Her long orange hair sprayed out over them, but Harry didn't notice as his head was tilted back by her hand, giving her complete reign over his neck and shoulder. She immediately took advantage, biting him softly and making aggressive growls into his ear, which soon became the target of the liberal kisses she was applying.

After a few minutes, even a werewolf would have been proud of Ginny's progress on Harry. She kissed his lips once more, and then pulled on his pajama top, trying to get it off.

"Ginny..." Harry said, putting his hands on hers. She immediately stopped, looking very disheveled and not happy.

"Harry, not again..."

"I can't...I'm just not ready yet..."

She sighed and rolled off of him. This wasn't the first time this had happened, so it wasn't much of a surprise, but it still was far from what she wanted. "We're both adults Harry, and we know we're going to be together forever..."

They'd had this argument before. "Ginny, I'm just not ready." He couldn't really explain why, because it was a combination of a lot of factors. Heavy snogging was okay...but for some reason, once the clothes started to come off, Harry's blood froze and he had to tell her no.

"Is it my brothers? Did they say something to you?" She looked murderous at the thought.

"No Ginny, it's just me." Harry was torn apart by the thought of not giving her what she wanted. She was completely right, and if she wanted it, then who was Harry to deny her? He wanted it too, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone else, he was dangerously inexperienced in such areas, and he wanted time to think about it before just jumping right in. He certainly couldn't ask Ron ("So, how should I treat your sister in bed?"), and Hermione was too embarrassing. She'd probably try to get him to read a book.

But that wasn't the only reason. Something else was blocking him, and even Harry wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was the whole idea of giving yourself to someone like that - he'd never been fond of people touching him except Ginny, but perhaps that was where the line was. He'd never discuss this with Ginny - he didn't want her pity - but at the same time, he needed to find some way to deal with it.

"Harry...please don't look like that. You know I'll wait for you however long it takes." She was looking down at him again, concern replacing her frustration. That was another thing only Harry could do - grab her from any mood and turn it into something about him.

He reached up and stroked her cheek again, thinking. Those passionate brown eyes melted through him, and he knew one day he would give in, and that it would be one of the best days of his life. But for now, he could only suppress the anger at himself for not giving her what she wanted.

"Ginny..." His voice trailed off, unable to face her. Then he realized he _could_ give her something she wanted. "Maybe we should start by sleeping in the same bed." It was a good compromise, in Harry's opinion, and maybe he would be comfortable with more after a while.

Ginny brightened, falling down on top of him and wrapping her arms around him. "That's the worst part you know...having to leave you after something like that."

Nothing could stop the cold, dark feeling from gripping his heart, but he tried to forget about the frustration and longing he inspired within her. "You won't have to now..." Even those words hurt, because it was implying that he would deny her again. If there was one thing in the world that Harry hated, it was denying Ginny Weasley something she wanted.

-------------------

The next morning, even Harry had to admit (again) that waking up with Ginny in his arms was something he enjoyed. He wasn't sure what had woken him yet (the alarm hadn't gone off), but her solid body curled into his arms felt wonderful. He kissed the back of her neck (it had taken them all of three minutes to decide the best way to sleep was with Ginny's back to his stomach), but a letter dropped onto his head, distracting him. Of course - Hedwig had woken him up as she flew into the room. Ginny mumbled something unintelligable as she placed her hands on his, holding him to her. Harry rolled slightly towards his back, freeing the arm under him to grab at the note while the other held Ginny. She mumbled something else, obviously disapproving, but Harry opened the parchment anyway.

_Harry,_

_Ron and I are going to come out to see you and Ginny at Hogsmeade sometime in the next week. Send Hedwig back with when a good time is for you, and we'll be sure to make it. Saturday and Sunday are best for us, but we're flexible._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Harry looked up at the snowy owl, scowling. "You're my owl...why does she talk like you're hers?"

Hedwig gave the owl equivalent of a shrug, as if to say _maybe you should have given me more to do._ Harry rolled his eyes, tossing the note away. "Ginny...I've got to get up. You know, gotta teach some kids to fight."

The redhead yawned sleepily, turning to face him before finally letting her eyes flutter open. "Mmm...Harry? Stay in bed with me all day."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Sorry...there are downsides to this job, you know."

She groaned, planting her forehead firmly in his chest. "Can't they wait?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope...and I've got first-years this morning. They won't particularly like me being late."

She wrapped her arm around him, as if to claim him for herself. "Then can I go with you?"

"Don't you have to work this morning?"

She shook her head. "Study day. I'm supposed to be researching about curse reversal, but I really don't feel like it. Besides, Bill can give me whatever I need if I owl him."

Harry slipped out of the blankets, pushing his way out of her arm, much to her distaste. She expressed as much, but Harry just smiled. "If you really want to come with me, you're going to have to get ready pretty fast."

She looked up at him, surprised. "I was sort of joking, Harry...but really?"

He shrugged. "I don't see why not. Maybe I'll do a practical lesson since I have a nurse on hand to correct any injuries."

She scowled, but rose after him. "I get the shower first, so go away."

Harry had given up his jibe about showering together; he knew she'd take him up on it in a heartbeat. "Don't have too much fun."

She walked toward the bathroom, purposefully showing off her small but well-formed figure. Her hair ruffled as she looked back over her shoulder at him. "You're the one who keeps insisting on sitting out..."

Harry smiled painfully. "I'm just being a gentleman."

She gave him a warm smile back before she closed the bathroom door. "And I love you for it."

-------------------

Harry had a dueling club class to oversee on Sunday because Saturday was one of the students' Hogsmeade trips, so he sent Hedwig back to tell Hermione Saturday would be best. The week slipped by quickly, though Harry's nights were slightly more interesting with someone else sleeping in his bed. He'd joined the two beds in the room to make one large one, but that didn't keep Ginny from finding every single way she could fall asleep on top of him, as long as it didn't involve any space at all between them. Harry took it in stride, and she at least slowed down on trying to surprise him into doing something slightly more than just sleeping. Harry had discovered one of Ginny's weak points was the back and sides of her neck; it seemed she would just melt in his arms if he licked either spot, though she denied it forcefully.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, a perfect day for Harry to walk the students down to Hogsmeade and have a drink in Three Broomsticks with his closest friends. Ginny had apparently decided she didn't mind the attention of them being in a relationship, because she'd kissed him in front of an entire class of first-year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. Harry still accused her of doing it on purpose, and Ginny always replied by accusing him of being irresistible. It wasn't as bad as Harry thought, though the sniggers and half-concealed whispers as he and Ginny walked to Hogsmeade hand in hand weren't too hard to spot.

Not that he minded. Truth be told, all the sneaking around had been getting on his nerves too, and he'd almost forgotten why he'd done it. Harry assumed McGonagall had known since the wedding, because she didn't make them move into separate rooms.

Harry found Ron staring into a window, quickly to be identified as Quality Quidditch Supplies, Hogsmeade branch. Harry and Ginny, being former Quidditch players themselves, came to see what he was looking at.

"A full set of the brand new Chudley Cannons uniforms," Ron drooled, not even bothering to return their greetings. Hermione appeared from nowhere, smiling and hitting Ron on the shoulder.

"Sorry about the git...he's forgotten his manners."

Harry laughed. "Quidditch can do that to a bloke." Ron finally turned toward them, but only because Hermione looked like she was about to club him over the head with the beater's bat that hung in the window.

"I see you two have been getting along nicely," Ginny said, sniggering. "How's the marriage coming?"

"Quite well, thank you." Ron shot his sister a venomous look. "How's the...never mind, I don't want to know." He scowled. A couple of students passed, staring at the quartet. They'd never seen so many famous people in one place - Hermione and Ron had been heroes after Harry's disappearance, Ginny was legendary in her own right at Hogwarts, and Harry was Harry.

"Oh! Hermione, you have to stay until tomorrow! You and Harry could do a practice duel for the dueling club he's running!"

Hermione gave Harry a questioning look. "You're running a dueling club? How did you get that one past McGonagall? And I thought you didn't want to have any responsibility?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair nervously. He actually hadn't meant to tell Ron and Hermione about that - Ron would be jealous, and Hermione would go nuts about how irresponsible the idea was.

"Er...I talked McGonagall into it, and it's not really that much. Teaching kids to hex each other with jelly-legs and Impediment Charms is hardly work."

Hermione gave him a look that exemplified her inner prefect. "Harry, you really shouldn't be doing that. What if it gets out of hand?"

Ginny smiled brightly. "Then I can fix whatever happens! The only problem is some of the Slytherins, but they deserve what they get, in my opinion."

Hermione still looked slightly reserved, but she didn't say anything more. Ron was looking at the uniforms again, so she hit him on the back, drawing a growl of annoyance. "If you're not going to let me look, can we at least get food? I'm starving."

"Ron..." Hermione groaned affectionately. She was all too used to her husband's stomach; it did most of the thinking for him. The four headed toward Three Broomsticks (no Hogsmeade visit was complete without butterbeer) and found a table. Madam Rosmerta was on top of them in an instant; perhaps celebrity did have its uses. After ordering food, Hermione turned to Harry.

"So how are the lessons going? Still having fun?"

Harry sighed. "They're going good, but I never said I was having fun." She gave him a hard look, and he couldn't keep from smiling. "Okay, you're right, I'm having fun. You can lay off it now."

She grinned. "I told you so." Harry scowled.

"So how do the Quidditch prospects look this year?" Ron asked. "Going to be a good season?" Apparently he wanted to get the subject away from lessons - he'd had enough school to last a lifetime. His job at the Department of Magical Games and Sports allowed him to think of Quidditch almost all day, and he was happy to take his work home with him.

"Not sure. I've been up flying a few times, but I haven't seen the teams practicing." Ginny shot him a hurt look; he'd never told her about his nighttime escapades. Harry had guessed he'd have to let her in on that particular secret now that they were sleeping together.

Butterbeer arrived, much to Ron and Ginny's delight. Harry and Hermione were a bit more reserved, but none of them would ever grow old of the drink - it was too good and had too many memories attached. Harry remembered his first taste, courtesy of the Marauders and their map. Those had been the days.

They caught up over lunch, but Harry could tell something was weighing on Hermione's mind. Ron seemed oblivious, but Harry knew better - if something was bothering Hermione, Ron had already confronted her about it and knew it didn't do any good to try to console her. Harry got the distinct impression the couple had something to tell them, and Hermione was just waiting for the right time. That time came at the end of lunch, after Ginny finished a rather longwinded tale of a student who somehow managed to tie his nose hairs in knots.

"Harry, Ginny...Ron and I have something to tell you," Hermione began, and the smile on Ron's face quickly disappeared. Harry felt Ginny stiffen - she must have sensed it too.

"We've talked about the possibility of having children, since we're married now and it seems our lives are pretty much set." Hermione was barely twenty, and Ron was only nineteen, but the two seemed ready for a quiet life, like Harry.

"I love the idea!" Ginny exclaimed. She was happy for about a half second, but a dark look from Hermione cut her off.

"We both do as well, but unfortunately, it's not going to happen."

Harry and Ginny both stared, uncomprehending. Ron had expressed to Harry in late nights at Hogwarts that he secretly wanted at least one child of his own, preferably a boy, but he'd settle for a girl. Hermione, of course, had confided in Harry all of her plans to have two children, one boy, one girl, had gone over lists of names, talked about what schools they could go to before Hogwarts, and how she was going to make sure they had the best lives possible. He, as well as Ginny, could see the shattered dreams on both of their faces. Hermione couldn't seem to talk anymore - she was nearly to the point of crying. Ron wrapped an arm around her gently, pulling her into him and rubbing her shoulder gently. He spoke in her absence.

"I don't quite understand it, but for some reason Hermione isn't able to have children." His tone struck Harry the most - the reckless, wild, crazy Ron was nowhere to be found. His luck had finally caught up to him.

Ginny was the first to say something - Harry didn't even know what he _could_ say to something like that.

"I'm so sorry..." She wanted to reach out to her brother and his wife, but across the table, she couldn't. Hermione sniffed, trying to remain composed in the face of everything.

"It's all right...we found out a while ago, it's just hard telling everyone else. It makes it more real," she said, wiping her eyes.

Harry nodded, and spotted something out of the corner of his eye. _Not now... _"I'll be right back," he said, pulling his wand from his pocket and meeting a strict-looking woman at the door. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny watched from the table, but they couldn't hear what was being said.

"Miss Vane. How nice to see you," Harry said, blocking her entrance to Three Broomsticks.

"Harry Potter?" She feigned surprise, badly. "Fancy meeting you here! Might I have a quick word?" She was already digging in her bag for a quill and parchment. Harry was reminded strongly of Rita Skeeter, and the displeasure was plain on his face.

"Actually, no. I was just having a quiet lunch with some friends, and I'd rather not be bothered." His wand hand twitched, drawing her eyes. She stopped rummaging in her bag.

"Ah...well...I see. I suppose a hero does deserve time to himself." Harry seriously doubted she believed this. "I see you're still hanging out with that slag, Ginny Weasley. Surely you could manage to find yourself a better girl?"

It was all Harry could do not to hex her on the spot. "She certainly beat you to me, and you even tried to get me with banned love potions," he sneered. Vane didn't take kindly to that.

"How is Miss Granger...er, Missus Weasley doing these days? Looks not too well from here." Great, she'd seen Hermione. That was what Harry had wanted to avoid - the last thing she needed right now was the press.

"She's quite all right, I assure you. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my lunch."

"Yes, of course. Wouldn't want to impose on our _precious_ Harry Potter." She gave him a nasty smile before slowly walking in another direction. Harry sighed, putting away his wand before returning to the table.

"Sorry about that," he said quietly, but Hermione gave him a significant look.

"Was that Romilda Vane?"

Harry hesitated, then nodded. "She works for the _Daily Prophet_ now. Someone must have found out she was in Gryffindor when I was – she has an assignment to keep tabs on me and see what I'm up to. Apparently she dropped out of her seventh year when she found out she wasn't going to get very many NEWTS." A dark look seated itself on his face.

"I'll be she loves that," Ginny said dryly. She remembered the love potion incident all too well – Ron had nearly died, and her Harry had almost been drugged to lust after Romilda. However, Harry didn't particularly feel like talking about it, so he changed the subject.

"Have you considered adopting? There has to be plenty of wizarding orphans."

Hermione shook her head. "We aren't even thinking about it. I don't like the idea of taking a child off the street and treating it like our own." A look of distaste crossed her. "If we were going to adopt, I'd want the real parents around to be in their child's life at some point."

Harry didn't see how that was possible. If the real parents were around, wouldn't they want their child? He certainly would. If he and Ginny ever (in the extremely distant future) decided to have a child, he would never even think of giving it away. The idea seemed so wrong.

"Maybe there's some way I can help. I'm in perfect condition to have children."

All six eyes at the table fixed on her. Ron looked particularly revolted, as if the ideas of his sister and children had never crossed. Ginny turned furiously red, averting her gaze from any one of them. "I just wanted to know…"

Ron's stare peeled away from Ginny long enough to give Harry a piercing stare. "You've been shagging my sister, have you?" His tone was not at all friendly, but Harry was glad to see he wasn't overly angry, yet.

"Ron!" Hermione chided, kicking him under the table hard enough to make him wince.

"No, Ron. Harry's being a gentleman about it," Ginny said. She was lucky her brother didn't catch the note of wistfulness in her voice.

"He better be," Ron growled, taking the butterbeer Hermione shoved in his face. There was an awkward silence, in which Harry reached for Ginny's hand under the table and gave it a soft squeeze. She looked at him with a weak smile.

"So do you want to stay until Harry's Army meets tomorrow?" Ginny asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I suppose we could, but I don't think I'd stand a chance against Harry in a duel." Hermione's eyes shifted to the dark-haired wizard and wondered if anyone stood a chance against him.

"I'd fancy a go at him," Ron said darkly. He was obviously still thinking about Harry and Ginny's relationship, specifically the physical aspect of it. Ginny looked nervously at him, wondering how far he would go.

"You both can take me at the same time," Harry said quietly. Ron's reaction to his relationship with Ginny bothered him, mostly because he hadn't even told Ron the half of it. How could he ever think about being with Ginny when his best mate wanted to rip his head off for it?

"Harry, no…" Ginny said, concern ebbing onto her face. Ron's feelings were apparent to her as well, and they bothered her a lot more than Harry. She didn't want to choose between the two, but if he forced her, she knew exactly where she would go.

"It fits into a lesson I was planning anyway," Harry said. "Duels aren't always one-on-one and the kids need to understand that."

Hermione was happy that Harry was taking his job seriously, but she didn't particularly want Harry and Ron dueling in their current state. She'd have to calm Ron down later. "I'll agree only if Ginny is there to moderate." _And provide medical attention,_ she didn't add.

"I wouldn't miss something like that!" Ginny said brightly, but the rest of the table was too tense to be cheered up. Madam Rosmerta came to take their plates, and after a while, Hermione was able to bring Ron out of his sulking, but it was an uneasy peace between him and Harry.


	10. Halloween

_Author's Note: In response to a review about McGonagall's animagus form: She is described as a tabby cat, but not what color as far as I know, so I'm using my creative license to make her what color I need her to be. Or in other words...oops. I really should check those things before I publish...I just like to get chapters up as soon as I write them. _:P

_Also, just to save some time for those of you who would check, Halloween was indeed on a Sunday in 1999, the year this story would take place. I'm rather happy about how that worked out._

_For those of you looking for some H/G fluff where they aren't fighting over something, just wait until Christmas. I've got some very happy holiday plans._

_Oh, and I hope the duel scene is okay...I've no prior experience with writing anything like it._

-JS

* * *

_**Chapter 10: Halloween**_

"Hermione?"

The library was probably her favorite place in the school; Ginny hadn't had to think long before finding her there. She and Ron were staying in Hogsmeade for the night so they could take part in Harry's demonstration the next afternoon, but Harry and Ginny both knew Hermione had other reasons for wanting to stay. The Hogwarts library was vast and very old, probably housing more magical knowledge than any other place in Britain, and it was only natural that she would want time to browse its bookshelves whenever she got the opportunity. The brown-haired witch marked the paragraph she was reading with her finger before looking up at Ginny.

"Hmm?"

Ginny found a seat next to Hermione's, casually glancing at the book she was reading. There didn't seem to be a title and it was very worn; it must have been from the restricted section.

"I've been studying the child-bearing process as part of my training, and I wondered if you wanted to talk about it." She didn't think mentioning Rebecca would be a great idea.

Hermione shook her head. "Not really. There's nothing anyone can do. I've talked to the best healers at St. Mungo's, and even muggle experts - there's no way I'm going to have children."

Ginny sighed. She knew quite a lot (or, she thought she did), but Hermione was right - there wasn't some magical cure that only she knew about and could do. It was silly to think Hermione hadn't tried everything before telling anyone other than Ron.

"I want you to know I meant what I said...I haven't read or heard about anything that makes it possible, but if there's any way I can help, I will."

Hermione smiled softly, even through the pain that talking about it caused. If anyone could make her feel better, it was Ginny. Harry might understand, but he wasn't a woman. "I know...but it's not going to make a difference. Whatever child I might have won't have me as a biological mother."

_Why does life have to be so cruel to her?_ Ginny wondered. Of all the people she knew, Hermione would probably make the best mother, and though he was a bit thick at times, Ron would be a good father. Why did it have to be like this? Hermione had certainly paid her dues to the world...why couldn't it just give this one thing back? "What happened to you that it has to be like this?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know, and I really don't want to talk about it."

"I know it's not the same thing, but I know Harry will name you our first child's godmother."

Did that make things better or worse? Was it better to be a half of a mother, or not at all? It seemed like a choice between bad and worse. "Thank you." That was all Hermione could think to say.

Ginny stood, though she and Hermione's talk had lasted a lot shorter than she'd intended. "Well, I know you like to have some time alone when you're reading, so I'm going to go see if Madam Pomfrey needs me. I wish things would have worked out differently, but I'm here if you want to talk about anything."

Hermione nodded, though she was already retreating back into the book. That was her safe place, a place where her worldly problems didn't matter. Ginny left quietly, very disturbed by her friend's lack of emotion. She'd been quite happy since the war ended, but now she was reverting back to the war-torn Hermione, the one that shut everything out and drowned herself in facts in order to survive.

--------------------

"Ron, can you please try to stop thinking about it? You're keeping me awake." Hermione was lying behind her husband with her arms wrapped around him, quite oddly given their height difference. This wasn't how they normally slept - normally he was facing her, but tonight he apparently wanted to be left alone. Problem was, Hermione couldn't sleep if she knew something was wrong with him.

"No." His voice was stubborn. "I can't stop thinking about what he did to her. You saw her when she thought he was going to be with Gabrielle...I can't let him do that to her again."

Hermione sighed. For once, she actually wished Ron was a bit smarter when it came to emotion. "You know you're going to lose a sister if you keep this up."

"Why? Why would she choose him when he left her more than once over me who's always been there for her?"

She rolled her eyes, happy that Ron couldn't see her. "Ron, you don't get it. She doesn't want you to keep her away from Harry, even if he does hurt her. She wants to take that risk because he's worth it - though I don't think it's much of a risk, given that Harry won't let her go again."

"That's what you think. You didn't think he would stay gone very long after You-Know-Who's defeat, either."

"He had some deep problems to deal with! Neither you nor I know what happened inside that manor, but when he came out, he had to spend forever in recovery of the Cruciatus! How can you blame him for that?"

Ron was silent for a moment. "He didn't have to run though. As soon as he was able, he disappeared without an explanation."

This argument wasn't going anywhere, and Hermione knew it. "I wish you could see their relationship now, as it is, instead of that warped vision you have. They're so happy together, I don't see how you could ever wish them apart. Even if you didn't care one bit about Harry, it amazes me how you would hurt Ginny to 'protect' her."

"Better a little now than a lot later."

She sighed again, wondering what he would do to Harry tomorrow...and for that matter, what he would prod Harry into doing to him. Over anything else, she knew Harry would be able to maintain a cool head and let Ron vent his frustration about most anything, but if he attacked Harry and Ginny's relationship, there was no telling what might happen.

--------------------

The next afternoon came way too early for Harry and Ginny. They'd spent most of the morning in bed together, since both of them were still getting used to the idea and it felt rather...nice. But time waits for no one, and by a quarter of four, the couple was out on the grounds, making sure there was a place big enough for the Golden Trio's mock duel. Though news of the event would spread almost instantaneously after the club let out, the four had decided to keep the lesson a secret because Harry didn't want the entire school showing up.

Ron (who looked rather sulky) and Hermione met them outside, the latter with a smile.

"Looks like a nice day," she observed, though she had a cloak wrapped about her to ward off the chill that fell across the grounds. Winter was approaching with an unexplained haste, as it was already Halloween and it would soon be November and the Quidditch season would begin.

"It is," Ginny agreed, smiling in her usual cheer. She was determined not to let her brother get to her. "Looks like some of the students are already here," she said, spotting a small bunch of Gryffindors about fifty feet away.

Harry ignored them, turning instead to Hermione. "I think what I'm going to do is have you and I duel for a couple minutes, and then have Ron join us as your reinforcements."

She nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. What are you teaching them? Is there anything I shouldn't use?"

Harry shook his head. "That what I've been trying to show them - use anything within your power to win. The Unforgivables, of course, are off-limits, but none of them would know how anyway."

Hermione shivered at the mention, throwing an uneasy glance at Ginny. She hadn't forgotten about Harry's lapse in judgment when it came to that. "You all right with that Ron?"

"Yeah, sure." He wasn't even really paying much attention. Not that any of them were surprised, but it still made for an awkward silence. More of the students started showing up, and Harry excused himself to go greet most of them.

At five past four, Harry called the meeting to order after magically amplifying his voice.

"I think it is time you learn something that I hope you'll never need." He'd prepared most of this speech with Ginny in bed that morning. She'd asked a good question - _why does this seem to be turning into an advanced self-defense class, rather than a dueling club?_

"If and when you're outnumbered, you'll need to fight smart and fast to overcome the odds. I've asked a few friends to come help me demonstrate what I mean." A general rumble started through the crowd as they realized what this meant. As much as some of them had asked, Harry hadn't shown more than a spell or two in any class, and certainly hadn't dueled. Many of them were itching to see why everyone seemed to think he was the most powerful wizard in the world.

"Hermione will start by dueling me one-on-one, and she will be joined by Ron later as 'reinforcements.' The rules will be the same - though I will have to disarm or otherwise disable both of them to win."

The murmurs in the crowd increased as Hermione and Harry bowed to each other, then pulled their wands out. "Ginny is here to moderate the duel, and to be on hand should anything unexpected happen," Harry told the crowd, who fast made a semi-circle around the duelists. Ron stood half-way between Hermione and the edge of the circle.

"Are you both ready?" Ginny asked, her voice also clear for the audience.

Harry and Hermione both nodded.

"_Tonare!_" Ginny cried, and a blast like thunder issued from her wand, signaling the start of the duel.

"_Stupefy!_" Hermione really didn't think she'd get that lucky, but she had to try. However, instead of blocking it, Harry was simply gone. It took her a moment to find him, some fifteen feet to the left of where he'd been standing. _How did he move that..._

"_Expelliarmus!_" Harry said, a bit louder than usual. The duel was for the students benefit, and he wanted them to know what spells they were using.

"_Protego!_" Her shield barely held and she was forced to move, consciously putting her back to the open grasses away from the students.

The two dueled for a while, trading harmless spells and fencing beautifully until Ron decided to jump in.

"_Reducto!_" His voice cried, his wand pointing at Harry, who only just had enough time to conjure a shield that was blasted apart by the spell. Hermione gaped at Ron - he could have killed Harry! The Reductor Spell was meant to blast solid objects apart - and Harry was most definitely solid.

The two combatants repositioned to take in the newcomer as the crowd watched in silence. Harry was hidden behind another, larger shield that looked very much like the one Lord Voldemort himself had used against Dumbledore in the Department of Mysteries.

"Too scared to come out, Potter?" Ron teased. Hermione gave him another glare.

"Only because I don't want to make a fool of you, Weasley," Harry shot back, joking. Ron however, was not, and Hermione knew she had to end this fast.

"_Reducio!_" She cried, shrinking Harry's shield to nothing larger than a postage stamp. She followed quickly with another spell Harry had never heard of. "_Exoculo!_"

Suddenly, his eyes sealed shut, and his hearing was completely dead. Nothing. He couldn't hear the low murmurs of the crowd, and he could no longer see Hermione or Ron standing in front of him. So he did the only thing that came to mind.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" For all those watching, a brilliant silver stag erupted from his wand, standing in front of him and taking Ron's next curse for Harry. All Harry could feel was the protector covering him in a soft happiness, one that calmed him and protected him, giving him a moment to think. He made a small motion with his wand, casting a non-verbal spell and dashing away in a direction he knew Ron and Hermione weren't. As he ran, his mind ran through a list of counterspells, though unknown magic was harder to deal with. Well, there was always one he could try.

"_Finite,_" he whispered, but the spell's effects seemed to not want to go away. He repeated the incantation, putting all of his magical power behind it. His eyes burned and his ears rang from the power of the counter spell, but light flooded back into his senses and he turned just in time to get a face full of Disarming Spell from Hermione. His wand flew several yards as he was knocked flat on his back, a collective gasp reaching his ears from the crowd. Harry picked his head up to see Ron taking a stroll over to his wand, a grin on his face. _No! I won't let him win!_

Harry threw his hand out, stretching for his wand. "_Accio Wand!_"

Stunned silence befell everyone but Harry. The wand jumped from its position on the grass into the wizard's hand, and before anyone else could comprehend what had happened, Harry flicked his wand at Hermione, thinking _Levicorpus!_ and pulling her fifteen feet into the air, her wand falling out of her hand in surprise. Harry turned to Ron.

"_Incarcerous!_" Unfortunately, the redheaded wizard had recovered enough to deflect the spell. Hermione dangled freely through this, reaching out for her wand but falling a good nine feet short. Ginny had to do all she could not to laugh.

"_Accio Wand!_" Harry shouted again, this time grabbing Hermione's wand and shoving it in his own wand's usual place in his robes. Ron yelled again, but Harry didn't catch the incantation before he felt himself trying to shrink. It was an incredibly clumsy attack, Harry decided, for he had time to think before warding off Ron's attempt at transfiguring him. There was a reason people didn't transfigure each other in duels - the magic was too easily stopped by a proper wizard. Harry conjured his silver shield back in front of him in time to catch another attempt from Ron to disarm him.

"Come off it Harry...that trick is getting so old..."

Harry's attention was on Hermione though - he let her down softly as Ginny came over to retrieve her. His attention turned back to Ron as he let out his next insult.

"You just going to run away your whole life?"

Harry didn't answer. It wouldn't do any good to encourage him. Ron let out another Reductor curse, blowing away his shield. This needed to end, and it needed to end fast.

"_Serpensortia!_" Harry called. A huge bang made the crowd jump, followed by an enormous black cobra's soft hiss, which made even the brave Gryffindors back up even more. Ron's eyes grew to three times their normal size as Harry hissed at the snake. It didn't take intelligence to know what he was doing - Harry's pointing finger was a dead giveaway.

The snake slithered toward a retreating Ron, who stumbled and fell over his robe. It hissed again, coiling for a lunge. Ron twisted out of the way, barely able to cast a shield charm to stop a stunner from Harry's wand. The snake, oddly enough, seemed to back up, but Ron didn't ask any questions.

"_Diffindo!_" The snake's head was severed from its body, causing it to fall to the ground. Harry didn't waste this opportunity either, attempting to put Ron in a full-body bind hex, but it was barely deflected. Apparently Quidditch wasn't the only thing Ron had studied in the last year. Both wizards retreated from each other, getting far enough away that spells would be easy to deflect.

"You going to give up?" Ron asked with feigned politeness.

Harry shook his head. "Not the type to run."

Ron laughed. "I'm sure you're not...though I must say, you convinced most of us you were."

Harry blinked. _Why is he bringing this up now? Can't this wait until we're away from students?_ "Ron, I'm not going to let you hurt me, so if you want to take your anger out, we can find somewhere to talk."

"Yeah, right. Just stall for time while you make up some story to cover for yourself. Maybe you should start being responsible and living up to your past."

Harry took a deep breath. He knew he had to remain calm, even through Ron's idiocy. He envisioned Ron as just another Death Eater, trying to evoke an emotional response out of him. They slowly circled the dueling ring, with Ginny and Hermione safely on the side, looking very worried. They both knew how this could end up if Harry wasn't able to control Ron.

"I've tried Ron, but you won't give me a chance."

He didn't seem to have a reply to that. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you left, because some of us thought you were a friend who wouldn't leave when things got rough."

"I had some issues, I know that. But Hermione has given me a chance to prove I'm not going to do it again, why won't you?"

"Because I don't want you to hurt us again! You don't know what you did to _my_ family!"

Harry would have sighed if he wasn't watching Ron closely for any hint of an attack. The wizard seemed to be content for verbal assault for now, but there was no telling when that might change. "You were all right with me at the beginning of the summer. What changed?"

Ron hesitated again. Harry knew exactly what had changed, but he wasn't sure Ron would announce it to the crowd. And yet, he did. "You started taking advantage of my sister."

Harry and Ginny had about equal reactions to this. Hermione had to restrain Ginny from hexing her brother on the spot. "Maybe if you would stop strangling her you would see that I'm what she wants."

A place deep inside of Ginny lit up with passion at hearing Harry. It was one thing to know she loved him...it was something completely different to hear him proclaim it to someone who wanted to kill him for it. At that moment, in her eyes, Harry Potter could do no wrong. Unfortunately, that was suddenly put to the test.

"_Incendio!_" Ron cried, lighting Harry's robes on fire from head to toe. Hermione and Ginny gasped, too shocked and worried to be angry at Ron for burning Harry alive. The flaming figure stood before them for a moment, then one arm raised.

"_Aguamenti,_" Harry whispered, but no one heard him. All anyone saw was a stream of water douse Harry's now blackened robes, and his burned figure emerge in their eyesight, slightly before he turned to Ron. The extreme pain of the heat and cold on his skin only fueled his next curse.

"_Sectumsempra,_" he said, his voice cold and unfeeling. It was enough for Ginny and Hermione to catch the incantation, but only because they'd heard it before.

Ron's shield charm wasn't nearly enough. The spell sliced through it like butter, slashing two lines across his chest, blood spurting everywhere a moment after Harry's hateful word. It was another moment before anyone moved. After what seemed like ages, Ginny ran over to Ron's side (he was now on the ground, crying out in extreme pain) while Hermione stared at Harry in utter disbelief. Harry himself looked down at his wand as if in realization. Another moment, a bang, black smoke, and he was gone. The only thing left was Hermione's wand, which fell to the grass right where he'd been standing.

--------------------

Ginny had healed Ron the best she could, but the wounds were too deep for her limited training. Hermione conjured a stretcher to take him to the hospital wing, then remained behind to handle the students, who all were pale with fear. She sent them back to their common rooms, praying she would have a little time before people came asking what had happened to Harry.

She met Ginny in the hospital wing some fifteen minutes later, finding the youngest Weasley in tears.

"Why did they have to do this?!"

Hermione quickly wrapped her arm around Ginny's shoulders, pulling her into a room that didn't contain Ron.

"Ginny, Ron is just too angry. It's his fault - Harry tried to reason with him."

"I know that! But Harry would never have done anything if it wasn't for me!" The thought seemed to renew the tears, and it was a good few minutes before she trusted her voice again. "I'm the only reason this happened...it's my fault!"

"Ginny, you can't think like that. You can't fault yourself for existing - Harry and Ron have control over their actions, just like you do. It's their fault they went at each other."

Ginny actually glared at her. "Harry was only defending himself. Don't you try and stick up for Ron - it's not Harry's fault he's a much more powerful wizard."

Hermione was taken aback by the vehemence with which Ginny spoke. She was right, sort of, but what made her want to defend Harry over Ron? Ron was her brother...she couldn't just write him off like that. "Ron's still your brother..."

"I don't know about that, after what he did today. I think I could even get over him attacking Harry. But what he said...about...about..." she trailed off, sniffing and wiping tears once again. "...About Harry taking advantage of me...I don't think I'll ever forgive him for that."

Hermione wrapped her friend in a full hug, hoping to calm her. "That's not what Harry would want...he wants forgiveness from Ron...and he would want you to give it to him."

Ginny didn't say anything to that. She knew that _was_ what Harry would want, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not now. "You know what the worst part about it is? Harry is sitting somewhere, probably wanting to kill himself for what he did."

Hermione sighed, because Ginny was right. He didn't disapparate away, but he'd disappeared just like he did. He couldn't have had his invisibility cloak on him, so he must have used some sort of invisibility spell, or just moved so fast no one could see him. Hermione seriously doubted the latter, so he could be in the room right now and neither of them would know it.

"You think maybe we should go look for him?"

Ginny looked up. "You think we could find him?"

"Do you have the Marauder's Map?"

"The what?"

Hermione bit her lip. She didn't know Harry hadn't told her about that. "I'll show you when we get up to your room. There's nothing we can do for Ron, let's go now."

Ginny nodded, though she wasn't sure she would have stayed for Ron. He would be okay, if a little scarred. Harry she wasn't so sure about.

--------------------

"Ah..." Hermione held up a worn looking piece of parchment after going through Harry's belongings. Ginny had let her in the room, expressing mild distress when Hermione took it as her right to search Harry's things, but she quickly let up, hoping Hermione wouldn't notice that there was only one bed in the room.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Hermione said, tapping the parchment with her wand. Ginny gave her a funny look, but stared as the parchment began to cover over in ink. However, it wasn't a map like Hermione had suggested. It was Harry's handwriting.

_Hermione, and Ginny if you're there - don't come looking for me. I have the map, and you couldn't find me if you had it. In fact, you couldn't get to me even if you knew where I was. I'll be back sometime, but I don't know when. I'm really sorry about Ron...I hope he doesn't scar._

_Harry_

"What does that mean?" Hermione wondered aloud, rereading the note. "He must be off the grounds. The map shows every room in the castle, even ones that only the teachers and Head Boy and Girl are supposed to know about." It helped that one of the map's creators had been a Head Boy.

Ginny looked as though she was about to burst into tears all over again. Did he really think he needed to leave Hogwarts to get away from everything? _Is he running from me like I run from him?_ She fell onto the bed, burying her face in a pillow, suddenly wanting to forget everything that happened that Halloween.

Hermione looked down at her friend, sighing softly. It was best just to leave her alone, like she so graciously had in the library only a night ago. She quietly stepped out of the room, making sure to close the door before exiting back through the portrait hole.

--------------------

Neither Harry nor Ginny showed up for Halloween dinner. Naturally, Hermione faced all kinds of questions from the Hogwarts staff, but she couldn't tell them any more than Harry couldn't be found and Ginny was in her room, pretending to not be hungry.

However, Ginny was not in her room as Hermione believed. Part of Harry's note had struck her as odd..._you couldn't get to me even if you knew where I was._ Both she and Hermione had their apparition licenses, so Harry couldn't be talking about distance. Ginny had a horrible feeling she knew where he was, and that's what led her to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry would believe he was the only one who could get down...there, but he'd forgotten about one thing. Ginny found the broken tap with the engraving of a snake, shuddering as she remembered the last time she came down to the Chamber of Secrets.

If Harry wanted to be alone, this definitely was the place he would go. Only a parselmouth could open the chamber, or so he thought. He had forgotten a pureblood who'd had help from the heir of Slytherin himself could open the chamber as well. Ginny raised her arm to parallel to the floor and pulled out her wand, dragging the tip across her inner arm. Her blood dripped down onto the snake, which lit softly. She began chanting quietly, reciting an incantation burned into her memory by a diary six years before. It must have taken thirty seconds, but the tap glowed white and the entrance finally slid open as Ginny healed her wound.

The destruction from Harry and Ron's rescue attempt was still there; not that anyone would have wanted to fix it. Harry had refused to let anyone in the chamber after his encounter, and Dumbledore had honored his wishes, much to the surprise of the staff. Ginny made her way through the hole Ron had cleared all those years ago, walking down the dark tunnel, memories shivering down her spine. She couldn't remember setting the basilisk loose specifically, but she remembered Tom bringing her down here, and she remembered Harry coming to save her life.

She reached the doors leading the inner chamber, but they were already open. This confirmed Ginny's hunch about Harry. She saw him sitting on one of Salazar Slytherin's massive stone feet, or rather, curled in the curve that was the front of his ankle. He didn't seem to be aware of anything - Ginny wondered briefly if he was sleeping. He had been down here for a good three and a half hours with nothing to do but think, and that couldn't be a good thing. Her footsteps sounded quietly against the stone floor as she approached him, but he didn't look up.

"Harry?" Her voice was as soft and smooth as she could make it.

He looked up, and when he saw her, fear and surprise flashed over his expression. "How did you get down here?"

She smiled weakly. "You forget I walked myself down here when Tom wanted me to."

Anger flashed over the surprise, obscuring it. "You shouldn't have come down here. How did you know where I went?"

Ginny walked quietly over and sat on Slytherin's other foot, looking straight at him. "I wanted to see if you were okay. You don't want me running from you when I have a problem, and it wouldn't be fair if I let you."

"You would never slash someone into tiny pieces," Harry replied bitterly.

_Good, at least he's not going to avoid it,_ she thought. "He set you on fire, Harry. He brought up things that happened ages ago. And...he attacked me, Harry. I don't expect you to act rationally when that happens. You know how I would react if someone ever hurt you."

"No...you don't understand. Ron was defenseless...it doesn't matter what he did, I should have controlled myself. It's my responsibility."

"What are you talking about? Ron's not defenseless, and it's not like you used an Unforgivable on him...you just did what you needed to win."

"That's not the point." Harry sighed, and then continued darkly. "Winning doesn't matter if you kill your supposed best friend. Though I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore."

Ginny bit her lower lip, wondering how to get through to him. She chided herself for not knowing him well enough, for not being able to be there for him when he needed her. This was something a good lover would be able to do, and apparently she wasn't one.

"Harry...I want you to know that if it ever comes down to you and Ron, you mean more to me than he ever will. If I ever have to choose between you, I'll take you."

That only made Harry feel worse. "I don't want you to have to choose! You shouldn't have to even think about it!" His voice raised, trying to get into Ginny's head, then lowered, as if accepting a hard truth. "Trust me, you won't ever have to leave your family to be with me."

Ginny stared at him, feeling a slight bit angry despite herself. "Harry, if you ever think about leaving me again, I will hunt you down and force you to be with me. You don't have a choice."

"Oh? And what are you going to do? Force a love potion down my throat?"

"I just might! Though I won't have to, because I know you love me, and I wish you'd stop trying to get out of it!"

"Is that what you think I'm doing? Getting out of it? You think I like doing this? No! I'm doing this because Ron is right - I've hurt your family enough, and I'm not going to be the cause of a split between you and him. He cares about you, and I don't want to take you away from him."

Ginny suddenly stood, staring down and him, about ready to slap him. "Harry! Get this through your head! I'm not going anywhere, even if it means I have to never speak to Ron again! This isn't about him!"

"It has everything to do with him, Ginny!" Harry rose to meet her, and towered over her, but she didn't back down.

"Why? Why can't it just be about you and me?"

"Because it isn't. It can't be. I can't be with you if my best mate wants to kill me for it."

"Are you saying Ron is more important to you than I am?"

He didn't respond to that. Of course he wasn't - Ginny was the only person who really mattered at the end. She had been the one to keep him from losing his mind to the Cruciatus, though he'd never told her that, and he probably never would.

"No one is more important than you," Harry said quietly, sitting back down. Ginny's anger softened as she knew she'd gotten her point across.

"Then why do you insist on finding reasons to not be with me? It seems like every time there is a problem, you somehow turn it into you can't be with me."

Harry wanted to deny the truth to that, but he couldn't. He'd been doing it ever since he broke up with her the day of Dumbledore's funeral, and it wasn't an easy habit to break.

"I care about what Ron thinks, okay? I don't want to lose my best friend."

Ginny sighed. She couldn't argue with that...not from the man who had stared down Lord Voldemort himself. It wasn't fear of power that made him afraid of Ron and her brothers...it was fear of rejection.

"Is that it?" She had the sneaking suspicion that was only a cover for what was really on his mind.

"I don't deserve you," Harry said finally. There, he'd come out with it. He'd told her the thing that was bothering him most, the thing he knew she would get irritated at him for even suggesting. And she did.

"Harry..." She made a frustrated noise. "I don't care if you don't deserve me. Do you want me to be happy or not?"

He looked up at her, eyes wide. He'd never thought of it that way. Sure, he knew she loved him and wanted him, but he hadn't realized she didn't think she could be happy without him. She was a very beautiful woman, and would have no problem finding another man to be with, someone who could treat her right. Someone who could give her everything thing she wanted.

"You could be happy with someone else. Someone who can give you what you want."

Ginny looked confused. "What can't you give me?"

Harry merely looked at her, sorrow in his eyes. He waited for her to figure it out, but she seemed to be stubborn about it. It wasn't something he could just say, it felt too weird. Comprehension gradually floated onto Ginny's face, then followed by exasperation.

"You can't possibly think that's a problem? Tell me this isn't about something that stupid."

He shifted uncomfortably. "You wouldn't be insistent about it if it wasn't...and it's not just that...it's that I'm not giving you something I can."

Ginny walked over to him and pushed his shoulders back, crawling on top of him. Harry didn't resist, even as the cold stone touched his back, contrasting her warm body against him. Her eyes met his, the mellow Ginny tucked quietly behind the fierce warrior that he knew she could be.

"Harry, please listen to me. I don't care if you never want to be with me in that way. I don't, I promise. If it bothers you that much, I'll stop suggesting because I don't want to lose you. Something like that shouldn't get in the way of us."

Harry struggled with himself. He was trying, hard, to break the habit of finding reasons he and Ginny couldn't be together. It was a small war inside of him, and she could see it in his eyes. He wasn't looking at her, but more through her. She gave him a moment to think, then leaned down to softly kiss his lips. Her hand slid gently onto his cheek to keep him from moving, her hair falling like a veil on both sides of them. After a moment, Harry returned the kiss, weakly, then pulled away.

"I'm so confused...things aren't supposed to work out..."

Ginny smiled softly. That was true - nothing in Harry's life had ever seemed to work out, no matter what happened. But she knew that was about to change, because she wouldn't let him go, and they would be together forever. This was one thing that wouldn't go wrong, even if everything else did.

"I know they aren't, but you've always said I'm different. Maybe you were right...maybe I'm the one thing that does work."

Harry looked up at her with longing. "I really hope you're right."

"I know I'm right," she said, leaning down to kiss him again. They were locked together for what seemed like hours, before Ginny finally had to pull back and rest. He seemed relaxed...not happy, but at least relaxed. She supposed that was as much as could be expected, given the situation.

"Can...can I ask you something?"

Harry looked mildly surprised. "You know you can ask me anything."

Ginny bit her lip again, and Harry knew he wasn't going to like her question. She only did that when she was under emotional pressure. "Do you know why you're afraid to be with me?" She looked away, then added, "...in that way?"

Harry's voice came before he could stop it. "I'm afraid of close physical contact because...of certain things that happened to me when I was younger." _Where did that come from?_ Harry wondered, but he knew it was true. That was the unexplained thing that made his blood run cold whenever she attempted to pull off his clothes.

"Wha...What happened?" Ginny asked, already afraid she knew the answer.

Harry shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it...it's not worth it."

She knew she was right. "They...it only was...you didn't get..." She couldn't finish the sentence, but Harry knew what she was getting at. Whatever the Dursley's had been, they weren't sexual abusers. Physical, yes, but not that.

"No...they weren't that kind of people," Harry said, closing his eyes against the images that floated past. "Just...the close contact...hurts because that's all I had for a long time..."

Ginny cried openly into his shoulder, wrapping him tightly in her arms. "I'm so sorry Harry..." She didn't know what else to say; there wasn't anything that she could say to that. He tried to comfort her by rubbing her back, but nothing could stop her tears for him. It was something she couldn't imagine, as she'd grown up in a perfect, loving home that, while it had it's rough spots, had always been there for her when she needed it.

Some time later, she lifted her head off his shoulder, her eyes red and swollen, looking stunningly beautiful in Harry's eyes. "I'm sorry...just...I can't handle the thought of someone hurting you like that..."

He nodded. "I've gotten past it...don't think about it too much. I know who my real family is, and I know that they'll never treat me like that."

That brought a weak smile to her face in spite of everything. Her arms hung loosely about his neck, her thumb stroking his skin just below the back of his hair. She couldn't think of anything to say. It was a long moment before either of them spoke again.

"Ginny?"

Nothing but love was in her eyes as she looked at him, taking in every feature of his face, her slender fingers caressing his cheek affectionately. "Yes, my love?"

Harry had to fight down a snigger at her over-romanticism, and truth be told, so did Ginny. "You know that I will get over this, right?"

She tilted her head. "Get over what?"

"This...thing. Someday I'm going to realize that I can't stop myself from shagging you senseless."

She giggled, nuzzling his nose with hers. "You know we're going to have to do it down here, right?"

Harry looked up at her with genuine surprise. "What?"

Nothing could stop the smile that lit up in delight. It was so...Ginny. One part happiness, one part love, and one part mischievous glee. "I'm going to shag you in the Chamber of Secrets. We'll add to the legend."

Something about her just seemed to infect him with her daring. All of his bad memories of the chamber disappeared with the look on her face. "You're crazy."

She giggled again. "Maybe, but it doesn't change how much I love you."

Harry smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I love you too."

--------------------

Ginny gripped Harry's hand comfortingly as they reached the door to the Hospital Wing. It was about an hour after their conversation in the chamber, after Harry had gotten cleaned up and she had tended to his burns. They hadn't been bad, and she was helped by the fact Harry had done quite a job healing himself right after the duel. She wondered briefly where he'd learned first aid, but it seemed like an obvious skill for a Dark Wizard hunter.

She quietly pushed the door open, walking Harry over to Ron's bed, keeping her hand tightly around his. Ron was awake, though it looked as though he wasn't in any hurry to move. Harry's spell had nearly sliced open his heart, missing by mere millimeters.

"Hey Ron," Ginny said, forcing a smile onto her face. "How are you feeling?"

Ron's eyes were on Harry the whole time, an incomprehensible look in them. It was as if he was seeing him in a whole new light. "Horrible, really."

Ginny sighed. He only said that because of Harry's presence. She pulled her hand up and rested it on Ron's bed, forcing Harry's hand with her. Ron didn't fail to notice, but didn't say anything.

"Look Ron, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you," Harry apologized, unable to meet his friend's eyes. Ron thought for a moment before responding.

"I attacked you first. I got what I deserved." That was probably as close to an apology as he would get, but Harry accepted it as such.

"I want you to know I'm not going to leave again, if you don't push me to." Ginny glared at her boyfriend, but didn't say anything as he continued. "I still want to be a part of your family, but I'm not going to force myself upon you if you don't want me."

This wasn't what Ginny had agreed to let him say. It took all of her self-control to not turn on him.

"Don't let me keep you away. Everyone else seems to have already accepted you back," Ron said bitterly.

Harry sighed, looking down at his and Ginny's intertwined hands. "I don't want that though...I can't hang around your family if you don't want me there - I'll feel like I'm intruding."

Ron, with great effort, looked over at Ginny. Even he could see the disappointment and pain in her eyes. "I don't think I really have a choice. Even if I didn't want you around, I'd have to pretend because I don't want Ginny to disown me."

An awkward silence followed that revelation. What was Ron thinking? Didn't he want to be friends again? He made it seem like he was only tolerating Harry because of Ginny, and honestly, Harry wondered if that wasn't the truth. It seemed terribly ironic that his reason for hating him was also the reason to tolerate him.

"Ron...when are you going to realize your overprotectiveness makes you into a huge prat?"

He stared at his sister. "I just don't want you to get hurt!"

"Then stop trying to protect me! Trying to keep Harry away from me hurts!"

Ron fell silent, a stubborn look on his face. Harry wondered if he couldn't see his mistakes, or if he simply refused to admit he was wrong. He seriously hoped it was the latter, but if he couldn't, maybe Hermione would talk sense into him after a while.

Both Harry and Ginny could see that Ron wasn't going to talk much more, and if he did, he was irritated. They said their goodbyes and left him in peace, deciding to return to Gryffindor tower. The walk was silent; neither of them said much. Both of them were just ready for this Halloween to be over.

--------------------

Harry called Dobby to the room to deliver them dinner; the little house-elf had been in charge of caring for their room and had brought them dinner on other occasions. The couple made light conversation with the house-elf, but none of it was enthusiastic. After dinner was over and Dobby was gone, they took turns in the bathroom, readying for bed.

They crawled together under the blankets, wrapping in and around each other. Harry reached up and brushed a strand of orange hair out of her face.

"I'm sorry things have to be hard right now."

She shook her head. "As long as I have you, nothing seems that bad."

Harry closed his eyes, feeling her lips on his soon after. He returned her affection, his hand resting on her side as she buried her head in his neck after wrapping her arms around his chest. He felt her breathing become soft and even against his skin, and he was not long in following her into a light slumber.


	11. Epiphany

_Author's Note: I've noticed that more than one person has commented on my fast updates. While I love writing that fast, I feel that in my haste to publish my writing has suffered, so I'll probably be taking more time between chapters to get everything right. Not to mention I've overwhelmed myself suddenly with things that need to be explained...I didn't quite imagine this would get so involved. Ah, well. Lessons learned while writing one's first fanfic._

_This was an inconvenient little chapter that had to be written...it's a bit shorter than I would have liked, but given its importance I couldn't jam it in with anything else. _

_In any case, I hope you all are enjoying the story as much as I am. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to all of Ron's fans out there - I know he usually isn't the jerk I made him out to be, so hopefully this makes it a little better._

-JS

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I did not come up with the line "several sunlit days", or Harry Potter. I love JKR for sharing her imagination with the world as all this belongs to her.

* * *

**_Chapter Eleven: Epiphany_**

Classes waited for no one, and Professor Harry Potter was up early the next morning, teaching his sixth-year Ravenclaws and Gryffindors again. He carefully avoided looking at Rebecca Princeton, having forgotten completely about in her in the events of the past two days. He felt a bit guilty because he didn't have a clue as to how to approach her, but he figured it would work out one way or another.

The class was relatively somber; something that confused Harry. It was no secret that his classes were some of the most enjoyed in the school, even if his course was considered the hardest. Usually Harry could tell that (most of) his students were eager to learn, eager to hear what he had to teach them from experience, but today they seemed rather reserved. He didn't doubt that they knew what happened between him and Ron, but if anything, he'd thought they would ask questions instead of appearing to be still asleep.

The general slowness dragged until the end of class, at which time everyone picked up their things and trudged out the door. Harry got the occasional odd look, but it wasn't anything that troublesome. He waited until almost everyone was gone before calling Rebecca to his desk. The Ravenclaw adopted a very formal tone and posture when she heard her name.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Do you still want to continue with your private lessons?" Blunt was best, Harry decided. At least this way he would get a straight answer.

"Yes," she replied stiffly. Harry knew there was something on her mind, but he also guessed it was the pregnancy. He'd have to confront her about it that night, and it was not something he was looking forwards to. Talking to Ginny had been bad enough, but at least Ginny had been happy she would never have to keep anything from him ever again.

"Six-thirty then?" That was their usual time now.

She nodded curtly, taking the dismissal in his voice. He didn't want Rebecca around when Ginny made her usual Monday morning visit, and he was rewarded with a minute to himself before the redhead made her appearance.

"I talked to Ron," she said, perching herself on Harry's desk. Madam Pomfrey had insisted upon keeping him overnight to monitor his wounds and be sure he had some rest. Curse wounds had a nasty habit of reopening even after they had been sealed, and there was no telling what modifications Harry could have made to the spell. He was, after all, the most powerful wizard in the magical world.

But now that wizard could only give a tired sigh, wanting all of it to go away. What happened to the days when Ron had suggested that Harry was the best man he could think of for her? He nodded silently at Ginny, but had no idea how to respond.

"He's fighting with himself, Harry. He knows he's being stupid, but he doesn't want to admit he's wrong. You know how stubborn he is."

Harry nodded again. He'd spent six years rooming with that pride, but it had never gotten in the way of their relationship like this. Well, maybe it had during the Triwizard Tournament, but they'd never _attacked_ each other before. "I don't know what to think anymore. Yesterday all I wanted was for him to admit he was wrong and give me a chance, but today I don't care if he never speaks to me again as long as it makes him happy."

Ginny picked his hand up with a comforting squeeze. "He'll come around. You've certainly come a long way from this summer when you thought I didn't ever want to talk to you again."

Harry looked away in embarrassment. "I don't even know why you do want to, knowing how much of my self-deprecation you put up with."

This impressed her deeply. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny (as well as the other Weasleys) had always known Harry had the "hero complex" that made him thing he was never good enough for anyone, and was always looking for reasons he should give himself up for other people, but he'd always denied it, or at least not acknowledged it. "I'm not going to let something like that come between us," she said, rubbing his shin affectionately with her foot.

Harry sighed. She had a gift for bringing the truth about him out to the point where even he couldn't deny it. "You do so much for us already...I feel like I should be doing more."

She hopped down from the desk and moved to sit on his lap. He sat up a little straighter to give her room, and she leaned against him while propping her feet up on his desk. He raised an eyebrow at her smile, but didn't say anything.

"Harry, you give me a lot more than you think." She ruffled his hair affectionately. Harry was beginning to wonder if she had a hair fetish or something. "You don't know what it's like to have a guy you know won't leave you and can always support you, no matter what you want to do."

He wrapped an arm around her waist, balancing her on his lap. "What do you mean? I'm sure loads of guys are like that. Isn't that what it means to be together?"

Ginny smiled softly at his innocence when it came to romantic relationships. Some things about him would never change, and that made her quite content. "Not always. I know you're the first guy I've dated that I feel safe with." That might have had something to do with waiting for him and knowing she wouldn't be able to live her life with anyone else, but that was beside the point. All of her previous boyfriends seem to just be attached to the surface Ginny, and were in love with the idea of having her as a girlfriend, not being with her in any significant level.

Harry wondered how anyone could date Ginny and not want to be with her and support her. "I'm glad you know that...but I'm sorry you had to put up with jerks like them."

She laughed at his indignance. Harry Potter, savior of the world, was getting annoyed by her ex-boyfriends. "You're special, Harry. I hope you know that." She pulled off his glasses and set them on the desk before reaching up to kiss his cheek.

He could feel his face turning slightly pink from embarrassment; he had a sneaky feeling the Weasleys were rubbing off on him in that respect. He didn't know what to say back (she obviously wouldn't take his objections), so he reached inside of her robes and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into him. She gave him a seductive look and batted her eyelashes in exaggeration.

"Since when did you start flirting?" Ginny asked, her fingers crawling up his arm. Her voice lowered and reflected the seductive smile on her face. Harry rolled his eyes, and then smiled back serenely.

"Since my girlfriend taught me." He brushed her lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "And I think she's quite good at it."

"Oh, really...?" Ginny grinned into his lips, kissing him twice. "You'll have to show me...but how about let's skip it for now?"

His reply consisted of licking those soft, gentle lips and allowing her to wrap her tongue around his and draw it into her mouth. Her legs quickly slid off the desk and found their place on either side of him in the chair (he'd enlarged it a little for moments like this). As she extended and leaned the chair back by putting her weight on top of him, Harry decided (again) this was the best part of his day. His hands slid farther under her robes and uniform, slipping under her shirt to slide against the bare skin of her sides. Her fingers from both hands laced into his hair, her body moving up and down against his as her fiery intensity drove the kiss, while Harry's steady, passionate hands made their snogging into something slightly more...sensual.

Normally, it never went beyond the point they'd reached, so when her hands slid under his shirt, Harry pulled back from her kiss in surprise. He would have jumped, but her hands were soft, warm, and felt too good to pull away from. She gave him a questioning look, but didn't remove her hands.

"I don't know if I can keep from doing this forever," Ginny complained. Harry shook his head slightly and pulled her body completely against his. She looked at him in delightful surprise.

"It's okay Ginny. I need you to push me." He surprised himself with his own forwardness, but he suspected that was Ginny rubbing off on him (in more ways than one).

"In that case..." Her smile returned, looking slightly feral. Her wand hand slipped from under his shirt and brushed his chest on the way up his chin, which she pushed back rather forcefully. His eyes fell closed as her lips attached to his neck, eliciting a soft moan as her body rubbed against him. Her hand slid around his neck and pulled him into her teeth, a low growl forming deep in her throat. Her hair brushed his chin as she attacked his neck, a familiar scent wafting up and forcing him to smile. He had woken up to that scent the last three mornings – it had a light, almost indefinite fruity taste to it. Upon waking, he hadn't been able to resist it (he'd rubbed his face into her hair every time), but now it dominated him, subjecting him to her control.

She wasted no time in snogging him senseless for several sunlit days, a session which ended with her body wrapped entirely around his, breathing deeply and stroking his chest with blissful affection.

-------------------

Harry skipped lunch that day, instead preferring to meet Hermione at the school's gates before she picked up Ron from the hospital wing. They hadn't had time alone in quite awhile - as much as Harry loved having Ginny around, there was something irreplaceable about his sibling-like bond with Hermione. The two of them had quiet moments together that were graciously Weasley-free; they were still muggle-borns, and being from relatively quiet backgrounds, they didn't always have the energy to keep up with all of the redheads.

"Harry!" Hermione's face brightened at his presence as he gave her a swift hug. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

Harry chuckled. _Typical Hermione._ "I'm on my lunch break, and I thought I would come see you."

The two strolled toward the castle at a relaxed pace. Neither of them was in any hurry, and for a minute or two they just enjoyed each other's company in silence.

"I'm sorry about Ron..." Hermione said finally, looking down at her feet as if embarrassed.

Harry looked over at her, wondering how well she'd slept last night. It couldn't have been very well. "I just don't know what I could have done different. I shouldn't have attacked him like that, because I knew he was angry at me before we even fought. I should have just stunned him right though his shield charm, but I wanted to have a good duel for the kids." It didn't take a mind reader to see the pain in Harry's body language. The thought of the rift between himself and Ron hurt on a deep, personal level.

"Harry, I hate to say this, but it didn't matter what you did." If anything, her eyes got lower. "He's been angry at you for a long time, and I think seeing you and Ginny happy together is like a betrayal for him."

He blinked. "Why?"

Hermione shrugged. "There are some things about him even I don't understand. Believe it or not, he's very complicated emotionally. I just know that he started getting irritated whenever I mentioned you after you and Ginny left for Hogwarts. Maybe he feels like you're stealing his sister."

That was news to Harry. He wondered if the rest of the Weasley family was like that, but Ginny's voice in his head squelched the sinking feeling in his stomach.

_No matter what, you'll always have me._

He smiled slightly, his nerves calming for the moment. He turned to Hermione again with a cocky grin that even his father would have been proud of.

"Is that why you married him then? Because he's the one thing you couldn't figure out?"

She rolled her eyes and shoved him gently with her shoulder, but her mood lightened considerably. "I won't deny I find that attractive, but you know I married him for more than that." Helping Hermione's relationship with Ron was probably the only good thing Harry had done in the year after Voldemort's defeat. He'd been able to explain his best friend's quirks in a way she could understand and accept, and he'd showed her that Ron wasn't someone could she get agitated about small things with. That had been one of the best changes in Hermione since becoming Ron's lover - she was still her usual detail-oriented self, but if something didn't go exactly right, she'd learned to relax and adapt.

"I still don't see what you see in him. He's the world's biggest prat." _And my ex-best friend,_ Harry thought miserably, but kept his expression light.

She laughed as they passed through the Entrance Hall. The few students who were around tried to look disinterested in the pair, but sighting of Hermione Weasley was rare, especially with her job as an Unspeakable. "I would hope you don't - I don't need Harry Potter trying to steal my husband." She said the final word with loving affection, as if she was still awed by the idea.

He made a face, but the two walked in silence again, slowing even more as they grew closer to the hospital wing. It was nice being able to talk like this; it had been too long.

"Harry?"

He looked up, revived from his thoughts.

"Why didn't you tell us you can do wandless magic?"

Surprisingly, Harry's blush returned. "Because I can't, really. The only wandless magic I can do is a summoning spell on my wand. It's more of a magical connection than anything else.

His explanation did nothing to tame her curiosity. "Still, that's amazing. I thought we actually won."

Harry's face darkened, but he didn't say anything of it. "You didn't think I'd let you do that, did you?" His smile didn't reach his eyes, but Hermione knew not to ask when he changed the subject. "But what was that spell you used against me? Scared the bloody hell out of me." He wasn't exaggerating - his adrenaline and Prongs had kept him going during the fight - but thinking back on it, losing sight and hearing all at once during a duel was terrifying.

Hermione's lips turned up in a smug smile. "That spell is taught to all Unspeakables in case we need to keep something quiet. I'm rather surprised you could break it; usually only the counterspell from the caster can remove it."

"Trust me, it was no picnic." He shuddered. "Nearly burned my eyes out."

Hermione beamed, obviously proud that she had gotten in a good spell on 'The Chosen One'. "I wanted to end it fast. I knew it wasn't exactly _fair_, but I didn't want to give you and Ron a chance to get into it." Her smile flickered.

"Maybe I should have let you win," Harry observed as they came to the door to the hospital wing.

She gave him a hard look. Ginny's comment about Harry blaming himself for yesterday flashed through her mind. "Harry, this isn't your fault. I hope you know I don't blame you in the least."

He nodded to appease her, but he was fast looking for a reason to escape going in there with Ron. Unfortunately, Hermione could read him almost as well as Ginny. She grabbed his arm in hers and pulled him all the way to Ron's bed, despite his many protests.

"You could die if you carry that too much farther Hermione," Ron said, not quite joking. He still looked a little pale and weak from blood loss. Hermione quickly gave him a kiss, whispering in his ear to be nice.

"How long until Madam Pomfrey lets you out?" She asked, turning to sit on his bed. Harry stood a few feet away, looking uncomfortable.

Ron shrugged. "She won't give me a time, as usual. Please tell me you've come to break me out?"

"He'll be out when he's good and ready." The school's nurse scolded the couple, coming to give Ron another blood-replenishment potion. Harry had a strong suspicion Ginny had brewed it, because Ron nearly threw up when he drained the vial.

"Ugh! It's even worse than usual!"

A snicker came from behind them, but Harry knew who it was without turning. "Serves you right." Ginny's voice said, followed quickly by her appearance next to Harry.

Ron scowled, but he didn't have the energy to fight her. Madam Pomfrey gave her apprentice a reproving glare, but she left them alone. Not even she could argue for Ron's need to rest after twelve hours of dreamless sleep.

Harry tried to stop Ginny from wrapping her arm around him, but she was insistent. He resigned to avoid Ron's eyes and looked down at his feet. Ginny's irritation felt almost tangible next to him.

"Oh, grow up you two. Really." Harry looked at her in shock, but she didn't stop. "I'm sick of this. Ron, you need to get over yourself, and Harry, stop being such a coward."

Both boys stared at her. She stared back, crossing her arms and shifting her gaze between them. Harry recovered first. "How do you figure I'm a coward?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Because you're afraid to even look at me in front of your best friend?"

"He's your brother!" Harry broke away from her arm. "And in case you haven't noticed, he hates me for being with you!" Harry's temper quickly got out of hand as he gestured toward Ron. The Weasley boy gaped at him, but Harry didn't notice since his eyes were locked on Ginny, whose temper flared to match his own. She'd wanted this fight for a long time.

"You'd think that if you loved me, you wouldn't care!"

That was low. Harry cringed from her tongue-lashing, but he couldn't back down from her. Not in front of Ron and Hermione. He kept his body language in a furious expression.

"Maybe if you loved _me_, you'd understand I don't want to lose one of my best friends!" That wasn't exactly true anymore (Harry believed he'd already lost Ron), but it had been true until the day before.

Heated silence filled the room. Hermione squirmed in her seat, feeling rather uncomfortable at hearing Harry and Ginny fight, and so quickly after Ginny had wrapped her arm around him, happy to see him. She'd always thought they were perfect and never had to row like her and Ron. Ginny had told her nothing of their little argument in the Chamber of Secrets; she'd just returned with Harry and both of them looked extremely happy. Ron reacted the opposite of his wife - he laid in his bed, moving about as much as a rock. Harry's outburst had jarred something loose in his head.

Ginny, however, knew Harry had a better point, and felt horrible for ever getting angry with him. Her eyes watered as she realized her mistake, and how self-centered she was being. She was only worried about the relationship between herself and Harry - she'd completely forgotten that Ron had been Harry's best mate for longer than she'd even known him. Harry's arms surprised her by wrapping around her waist, pulling her close to his body.

"Ginny, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you." She only responded with a sniff, willing her tears to hold until she could get away. Unfortunately, Harry's arms felt so safe and comfortable, and when he kissed her forehead, she wrapped around him and cried silently into her shoulder.

Ron stared at the scene before him, feeling almost as horrible as Ginny was. He avoided Hermione's pointed gaze, preferring to stare at a wall than face her. She'd been telling him this since the wedding, but he hadn't wanted to listen. He knew she was trying to tell him it was time to apologize and hope Harry could forgive him, but admitting he was wrong was not something Ronald Weasley did well. Unbidden, the image of Harry getting killed by a Hungarian Horntail popped into his head and forced the Gryffindor courage to the front of his mind.

"Harry?"

The raven-haired wizard turned with his girlfriend in his arms, never letting go of her, but rotating so he could look over her shoulder and see Ron.

"I..." He paused, wondering what he could possibly say. "I reckon I should have given you another chance." Harry's words from the duel the day before seemed to be the only right ones he could find. Ginny's head whipped around, her eyes red, but there was a disbelieving look in them all the same. Harry smiled, and that was all Ron needed to ease the tension that had worked its way up his back and held him hostage.

"Caught on, have you?" It was funny how words from years ago came back in the most unexpected times. Ron's eyes flashed in recognition, and a grin appeared on his face.

"Let's just hope Hermione doesn't run away crying this time."

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" Hermione smacked him on the arm, his medical condition not withstanding. Ginny finally smiled, letting herself believe that her brother had come around. After the duel yesterday, she'd resigned to the fact she would have to tell Ron to come and talk to her when he grew up.

"You know, it took Mum forever to get her to say that right." Ron winked at Harry, who laughed, which caused Ginny to giggle. Hermione looked vaguely put out, but the sight of her three best friends laughing together saved Ron another slap to the arm.

-------------------

Harry supposed he should be dreading Miss Princeton's arrival, but it was hard to dread anything after setting things right with Ron. The peace between them was still a little awkward (months of their feud was hard to just forget), but everything would be okay, especially with Hermione there to talk sense into Ron. He smiled at that - it seemed Hermione was always talking sense into them all. In the events of the past few days, he'd forgotten to tell her about his lessons with Rebecca, but he knew he'd get an earful whenever he did. Ginny had wanted him to write her, but that wasn't the kind of thing you told someone using an owl. Even worse, if the letter for some reason got intercepted, its contents would look very...bad.

A soft knock came on his door, driving away images of what Azkaban must look like. He took a moment to put on his professor mask, and then spoke to the door. "Come in."

Rebecca came into his office looking very timid. Out of habit, she sat in her usual spot, but her eyes never even looked at him.

"You made progress last time," Harry said, encouragingly. "You threw it off entirely."

"I..." She faltered, having no idea what to say. "I don't think I could do it again."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because...I don't know how I did it." That wasn't the truth - she knew that something had touched her baby inside of her, and she had become aware enough to focus her magic around her unborn child as a ward. That ward had thrown the curse completely off her, but only because Harry had tried to control her child. She still couldn't do a thing about the curse for herself.

He realized this was the time to tell her he knew about the baby. "Do you think it might have anything to do with what I tried to do to you?"

She stared at him for the first time, eyes wide. "What did you try to do?" She thought he didn't know what he'd done, but perhaps she'd been wrong.

"I didn't know at the time...but I do now." He let her think about that. It was painful watching the terror and shock run through her eyes, but he didn't know how he could have made it any better.

"You...you know?"

Harry nodded slightly. "After last time, I forced it out of Headmistress McGonagall. I was worried that there might be something wrong with you."

A look of supreme confusion set itself on her face. Of everything, that was the thing he least expected. Anger, despair, or even relief he could have dealt with, but confusion was, well, confusing.

"You...what?"

Harry blinked. "I made the Headmistress tell me about your pregnancy. I thought there might be something wrong and..." He trailed off, the shock on her face increasing. No one had ever bothered to care like that before; certainly none of her friends would argue with a teacher over her, let alone the Headmistress. "_Is_ something wrong?"

"No...of course not." She flushed, but her skin didn't do much more than turn a soft shade of pink. Harry wondered what could scare her pale and cause her to blush at the same time, but in any case, he thought it might be nice to save some of her right to privacy.

"She did not tell me anything besides that you are pregnant, any other details are beyond what I need to know." It didn't matter that he was pretty sure she'd been used by the Imperius Curse; he didn't know, and it could stay that way if that's what Rebecca wanted. He was determined to be professional about this.

"Do...do you mind if I tell you what happened?"

_What?!_ Harry stared at her. He couldn't force his jaw to work for a long minute, and his professionalism went right out the window, its owner unable to think about keeping it up. Genuine concern now laced his voice. "If you want to talk, I'll do my best to help." He'd never had anyone come to him with something like this before. Well, Hermione had, but they'd been through so much in even their first year that it only seemed natural.

"I...I came to you this year because I didn't want this to happen again." She seemed remarkably composed, but it had to be a front. She'd seemed terrified when she'd began lessons, and Harry could see why now, but even the uneasy trust she'd developed for him wasn't enough to reassure her. "I don't even know who the father was...and...I really don't even remember..." Her front was cracking, and her voice broke. "...doing it."

Harry stood, mostly to give himself something to do other than process what she was saying. A combination of anger and tears formed in his eyes, but he blinked them both back, knowing if he showed her any sign of how much she affected him, she would have no chance at holding herself together. What had happened to her linked far too easily to Ginny, and if anything like that every happened to her...

_Wait...isn't Ginny here?_ She could help...but...Harry cursed silently. She was having dinner with Hermione for a little girl time before the bushy-haired witch returned home. She didn't come to all of the lessons anymore anyway. Now that he thought about it, the familiar tabby in the window wasn't there either. What was going on? Why did the world have a conspiracy to make him deal with this on his own?

"I don't know what to say." He figured honesty was best. "There's nothing that can erase what happened, but you know that you can move on and not let it control you." _When did I get this smart?_ By this point, Harry was running on instinct, and his instinct was telling him he needed to protect her and shelter her. It wasn't a friendly protection...or a feeling like he would have for Ginny...no. He couldn't possibly know it at this point in life, but it was a fatherly feeling, one that hadn't surfaced until now.

She looked up at him with glistening eyes. "No...no one has ever told me that before." Indeed, all anyone had tried to tell her was forget about it...not to accept it.

_Huh?_ He walked around the table and leaned against it in front of her, giving her the comfort of proximity without invading her space. "That's the only thing you can do. You could get your memory modified, but that wouldn't change what happened. The only way you're going to get over this is to stare it in the face and win." The parallels to his dementor lessons with Remus were starting to play in the back of his mind, and it was unnerving.

"Professor...I..." A tear slipped down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. She wasn't to the point of openly crying, but it wasn't far away. Harry waited for her to compose herself. "Thank you."

It seemed the gratitude would never stop coming in his life, for one thing or another. "For what?" This time, he couldn't possibly know what it was for.

"For..." The truth was, she didn't really know what for. All he'd done was provide a safe environment every Monday, a place where she could do something to help her get over her summer without having to talk about it. He had repeatedly used the Imperius Curse on her, and she could remember what happened every single time he did. Something about that had built her trust in him like nothing else ever could. "For being someone I can trust."

Images of Harry's childhood before eleven flashed through his mind. That was what sparked the feeling inside of him, what motivated him to help her and gave him the strength to protect her. Somewhere along the line, he'd recognized a part of himself in her, the part that had been alone all through his childhood with no one to turn to. His heart went out to her, and he knew he couldn't let her down. Suddenly, his desire to teach explained itself. Harry realized that was his calling now, his purpose. Ever since Voldemort had died, he'd been living without a purpose, and that had dragged him into a feeling of helplessness and despair. He thought he'd fulfilled his purpose for existing and the rest of his life was just a waste, but now he knew Voldemort was only the beginning. He not only had one purpose in life, but two. The first was Ginny...she _was_ his life in some ways...but teaching and preparing his young children for the life ahead of them was his passion.

"If it makes you feel any better, Miss Princeton, know that you've already helped me in more ways than you can imagine already." Harry smiled in spite of everything, resisting the urge to chuckle at the bewildered expression on her face. "Don't worry about it...I'm not sure I could explain it if I wanted to. But thank you, also."

The look of confusion never faded, but she gave him a nod of acceptance. They sat there in silence for a moment, before Rebecca slowly looked up at him. "Would it be all right if I didn't feel like practicing tonight?"

Harry nodded. "I think you have done all you need to for now." She stood, but Harry's voice kept her from turning. "But I do think next time we need to talk more about this. I think one of your problems might be that you haven't dealt with...this." He couldn't think of any better word, but the gratitude in her eyes was clear as day. Harry wondered if she'd ever had anyone to talk to in her life - he knew from student records that she was an orphan, much like him, and had a different set of foster parents every summer. She certainly didn't have siblings, and though she'd obviously made friends in Ravenclaw, she always had a hard outer shell that projected an unfeeling scholar rather than the soft, hurt child that Harry saw in her tonight.

"Um...right. I...I'll look forward to it." She almost turned to go, but she turned back, looking almost afraid again. Harry was able to truly appreciate how fragile she was, looking it both physically and emotionally. "Could...Could I..." she trailed off, shaking her head. At Harry's curious look, she sighed. "Never mind. Thank you for your time Professor." At once, her hard shell was back up, but Harry knew she needed some sign that this meant something to him.

"I'm sure everything will be fine, Rebecca."

She broke out into a soft smile, and Harry instantly felt wonderful about everything. This was what life was all about.


	12. A Hero's Promise

_Author's Note: Okay, so this is my one month anniversary for this story (I had to update on it), and I just realized I wrote 80,000 words in a month. Stupid Muse won't leave me alone. _xD

_I hope you like Harry and Ginny moments, most of this chapter is also about them alone, so if you do, you're in for a treat. If not, well...you're in the wrong story. _:D

_If you're looking for a little action (as opposed to drama), it'll pick up after Christmas. Reading about Harry and Ginny snogging each other senseless has to get boring at some point...though...I'm not sure I've found it yet. This is their love story for a reason._

_Anyway, enough of me. On to the chapter.

* * *

_

_**Chapter Twelve: A Hero's Promise**_

As much as Harry didn't want to share his most recent conversation with Rebecca, he knew he had to tell Ginny. She'd vowed never to keep anything from him ever again after their conversation about the young Ravenclaw's pregnancy, and he knew she wouldn't take well to keeping something like this from her. He did, however, put it off until she was snuggled into him that night, looking sleepy and otherwise content.

"Ginny?" His arm was wrapped around her, holding her lower back to his stomach as he licked her neck softly. There was nothing really wrong with what he was about to tell her, but for some reason he wanted her to be in a really good mood. Maybe the more realistic side of him knew she would be slightly jealous.

"Yes, my love?" She called that sometimes when she was sleepy. Something about her reduced awareness and the comfort of his warm body tamed the raging fires of her personality into a soft, warm pool of love reserved especially for him. He smiled into her skin, his breath tickling the hairs on the back of her neck pleasantly.

"I think Rebecca and I made progress today." It wasn't unusual for them to talk about her - after all, Ginny was considered the young girl's healer for the pregnancy, so she needed to know anything that might have medical consequences. No, what surprised Ginny about this subject was his timing.

"Okay?" She didn't know what else to say; he obviously had something important to tell her.

"She talked to me about..." This was harder than it had seemed. Just thinking about what had happened to her caused an involuntary shudder. "About what happened when she got pregnant." The last word came out choked, as though it was still a new concept to him. Children were not a common topic of conversation among the boys' dormitories, nor were pregnant women.

Ginny obviously had some idea of what that meant, because she turned to face him and slid a hand up against his cheek. "You told her you knew about the baby?"

Harry nodded, his cheek rubbing slightly into her hand. Something about her touch was comforting in a way that he couldn't describe. "I really don't want to talk about it...I just thought you should know. And..." he paused, taking a breath,"...I thought you would want to know that I can't see her as a student anymore. It's starting to get personal." There, he'd said it. Ginny could do whatever she wanted to him, but he wouldn't lie to her.

But she didn't seem to be angry, or even upset like he'd imagined. Something in her eyes told him she knew how he was feeling; she knew that his compassion for humanity wouldn't allow him to not care about Rebecca. "I understand, Harry. Your greatest strength is your ability to love...I wouldn't change that for anything."

Her confidence was something he desperately needed, and he thanked her with a swift kiss, pulling her close with his arm. She nodded, expressing again her understanding and brushing his lips with the tip of her nose.

"Just as long as you know you're mine, Potter." A small grin appeared on his face at her possessiveness. She was so perfect for him. She was understanding even though she knew when to be forward, she could tell him what she wanted without forcing him into anything, she was there for him when he needed love though she could put him in his place when he needed it. He rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and smiling as he felt her soft, slender fingers slide under his shirt and caress his lower back. For a moment, Harry thought she was going to tease him by playing with the back of his pajama pants, but somehow she knew now wasn't the time. He rewarded her with another gentle kiss, feeling like he'd just downed a cauldron-sized portion of Felix Felicis.

The two fell into an almost enchanted sleep after trading playfully quick kisses for almost a half hour. Harry's last thought before slipping into unconsciousness was of Ginny's soft breathing into his skin, and of how peaceful everything seemed. There was something to be said for the comforts of her face buried into his neck, murmuring a soft "I love you" before she fell into a light slumber.

--------------------

That peace lasted though the night, but it was rudely interrupted by an unfamiliar owl, screeching loudly as it landed on Harry's trunk at the foot of the bed.

_Huh? Shouldn't the post come with the regular mail at breakfast?_

The owl screeched again, scratching a talon against Harry's trunk impatiently. Ginny groaned into her lover's chest, shaking him softly and mumbling for him to shut the owl up. Harry sighed softly, blinking sleep from his eyes long enough to sit up and crawl down to the edge of the bed. The fact that the owl was a Ministry owl didn't strike him until it soared back out through the window and Harry had time to see the Ministry's seal on the outside of the thick parchment.

He flopped back onto the bed, groaning to match Ginny's sentiments. What could the Ministry need to tell him that couldn't be opened at breakfast? Why were they even talking to him at all? After their owls hadn't been able to find them at Grimmauld Place, Harry supposed they had to give up and leave him be. Apparently that wasn't the case.

Ginny scooted her way down the bed to lie next to him, her fingers wandering under his shirt again, this time playing with his belly button affectionately. He still had the rolled parchment in his hand, though it looked as though he'd had no intention of opening it. Her eyes roamed up to the letter in question, her brow furrowing as her curiosity spiked.

"Harry...what's that letter for?" Her voice was slightly slurred from her still present sleepiness, but he could tell she was a little concerned.

"I haven't a clue." He really didn't - he'd made it clear to the Ministry he wanted nothing to do with them. Unfortunately, Ginny was already reaching for it, forcing him to pull it out of her reach and open it on his own. For some reason, he couldn't see the letter and tried to blink sleep from his eyes, realizing a few moments later that he needed his glasses.

_Mr. Potter,_

_The Ministry would like to inform you that we have reports of heightened Death Eater activity, particularly in the regions near Hogsmeade. This could be related to your presence at Hogwarts and your recent reappearance in the wizarding world, but we have reports that their might be a large attack coming against the village in the coming months. While you refused our request to work to destroy the remnants of You-Know-Who's supporters, we would like to ask you once again to work with us to destroy the last of this evil so the wizarding world can sleep easily._

_We look foward to your reply by return owl._

_Sincerely,  
__Rufus Scrimgeour  
__Minister of Magic_

Harry growled angrily and threw the letter on the ground. Ginny had taken a place behind him with her head propped on an elbow, trying to read the letter. She didn't get the full contents, but she'd gotten the point. Her hand ruffled his hair affectionately, a smile coming to her lips.

"It seems the world needs my Harry Potter again, doesn't it?" Her voice was teasing, drawing a sigh from her boyfriend.

"Why me? Haven't I done enough for them?" He really hadn't done it for the Ministry, but it coincided nicely with Scrimgeour's career, making him look like the best Minister of Magic in recent years. Ginny ran her hand through his hair again, trying to calm him.

"Of course you have. You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Harry. You know your job here is just as important - you're teaching people how to defend themselves from people like Tom, and that is just as important as hunting Death Eaters."

When she put it that way, it was a lot easier to ignore the Ministry's letter. His sense of duty wouldn't let him off the hook as easily as he would have liked - sometimes Harry felt the obligation to hunt down and put away every last Death Eater until the world was rid of the Dark Arts - but he was tired of hunting. He just wanted to settle down and have a quiet life with the beautiful redhead that was currently taking a long whiff of his hair. She'd grudgingly admitted that he had a quite attractive scent to him, something she couldn't describe other than it was powerful with a hint of boyishness. Harry had witnessed its effects on her for the first time when they'd been snogging in his office - she had pulled his hair to get him to bend his head down, and then buried her nose into the top of his head shamelessly. When she'd pushed his head back and returned to his lips, it was with a new sense of hunger and arousal.

"You're not going to ravage me again, are you?" Harry asked teasingly, tilting his head and smiling up at her as she rolled her eyes.

"No, but you wouldn't understand if I told you. It's a girl thing."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Try me."

She tossed her hair, letting out an exaggerated sigh. Sometimes not having another girl around that she felt comfortable talking to was frustrating, and maybe Harry would get it. Maybe she would be able to talk to him about some things.

"It's not just one feeling...it just makes me feel more of whatever I already am, like now, I'm just happy. It's like a bit of you is coming inside of me and making me feel wonderful."

Harry sniggered. "You're not coming on to me again, are you?"

_Or not._ "Harry!" She slapped his arm, but she couldn't help a snort of laughter of her own. Maybe she had set herself up, just a tiny bit. _Wait..._"Are you saying you want me to come on to you?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably, trying to figure out a way he could come out of this with his pride intact and only slight embarrassment. "Well...not really...but..." he stopped, flustered at the huge grin that broke out onto her face.

"My Harry is getting _needy_," she teased, sitting cross-legged behind him and sniggering.

"I am not!" Indignance won out over his embarrassment. "I just know that I feel all...nice...when you touch me, and I sometimes feel like I want more." Well, that was partially the truth. He'd had certain fantasies involving himself, Ginny, and certain actions that he knew her brothers wouldn't approve of, but he'd never gotten the courage to say anything. In truth, all of their snuggling at night and snogging in deserted corridors was starting to wear on him. She'd had her hands all over him by this point, what was the difference of her feeling it under his clothes or without them?

"Yes you are..." She was enjoying this to no end. She'd imagined this moment for a long while now, the one where he finally came to her and admitted he was attracted to her in ways past snogging. "Famous Harry Potter, hero-boy of every witch and wizard alive, finally has come to his senses about girls." Her grin was so pronounced it almost looked goofy, but Harry loved it and couldn't resist a weak smile.

"Ginny...don't get the wrong idea about this..." He reached up to grab her hand. "It's going to take me a while to get used to everything, and I want to go slow."

Even to Harry, the words seemed foreign. He couldn't live in the dorms with boys for six years and not hear their crude jokes about girls, even if they were only fantasies. It seemed like it was a common wish among them to sleep with a hot girl, but Harry had never joined in on their enthusiasm. From what he could pick up from listening to Seamus and Dean's conversations (he'd always listened; he'd never been given a proper explanation other than overhearing Uncle Vernon give Dudley "the talk") the actual act of 'doing it' was quite repulsive. When Ginny had demonstrated to him that she wanted more than a heated snog, Harry had desperately tried to find the reason he was repulsed so much. He'd found it, but that wasn't something he was ready to discuss with her. He'd have to, eventually, but not now.

Her expression softened, the teasing glint sliding from her eyes, for now. "Of course we will Harry. Let's just forget about it for now, and I'll take care of it."

That earned her a curious and slightly reserved look from Harry. "What do you have planned?"

Her smile was maddening. "Don't worry about it. You know I wouldn't do anything that you don't want me to."

That comforted him slightly; she hadn't held back on her desire for nothing. "I trust you...but try not to embarrass me any more than you need to..."

She laughed, leaning down to kiss him. "I wouldn't dream of it..."

_Yeah right, _Harry thought, but it wasn't important enough to interrupt the deep and rather sensual snog she now wrapped him in.

--------------------

Unfortunately, Ron and Hermione had returned home that morning or Harry would have had them come to the Advanced Defense class (as the school had taken to calling it) that evening. He had to be content that the class was Ravenclaws and Slytherins and they hadn't seen the duel between Harry and Ron. He had already come up with an idea to fix the whole thing, but he couldn't act on it without the Headmistress's approval. It still needed a lot of planning anyway, and with Quidditch season starting up, the school was starting to buzz with excitement anyway. Harry had only been able to arrange a meeting with McGonagall that Thursday before his Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors met for their next Advanced Defense class.

He entered the Headmistress's office exactly on time, though he'd had to wait a minute in the hallway after arriving early.

"Mr. Potter." She nodded curtly at him, but Harry was far too used to the witch to be offended. "Have a seat."

He sat in front of her desk as she set down some paperwork. A passing image of Dumbledore doing paperwork passed through Harry's mind, and he had to force back a smile. Yeah, right. Dumbledore doing paperwork seemed about as likely as McGonagall announcing her sudden marriage to Argus Filch.

"Professor, thank you for your time."

"It has been a while since our last conversation. I assume you are enjoying yourself?"

An unbidden image of Ginny floated into his head. "I am, Professor. I've actually come to talk to you about the Dueling Club. I have an idea that I wanted to run by you."

She gave him that appraising look, the one where she looked down her nose at him and pierced through him with her stern eyes. "I daresay it has developed into more than a 'dueling club', Mr. Potter."

Harry turned slightly pink and looked down. "Perhaps it did get a little out of hand."

McGonagall let him squirm under her stare for a moment. "I assure you I have no desire to disband your Advanced Defense classes..." She used the term the faculty had started whispering amongst themselves. "But I do hope you learned your lesson well from Mr. Weasley."

Harry's face burned. There was nothing he could do to defend what had happened, but he tried to make the best of it. "That's what I wanted to talk about. I think the students need to understand that dueling can be a safe and constructive activity if done properly, and I think that a tournament would accomplish that."

McGonagall was silent for a long minute after that. He'd obviously been thinking about this for a while, because his wording was a little too eloquent to be part of his natural speech. Again, her first impression was to decline, but he was certainly right - the students needed something to help them forget about that disastrous Halloween.

"How would you organize this tournament?"

"It would be voluntary, of course, but we would set up single elimination brackets and then draw names for the house championships. Once four winners have been chosen, the four house champions will duel the other three, and whoever has the best record at the end will win."

Harry's knowledge of Quidditch tournament structure had made that part of the set up easy. There were approximately a thousand students at the school, and at any given time, half of them attended Harry's extra defense classes. He figured almost all of them would want to compete, as well as people would join when they heard of the tournament, so he counted on perhaps four hundred contestants, a hundred from each house. It had always surprised Harry how many students were in the school - his year had been surprisingly small, and even then, most of the students had gone to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. It came out to about 18 students per dorm of each year, considerably more than the five Harry had. Granted, at the time Harry had been born not a lot of people were having children, and death in the wizarding world had been at an all time high.

McGonagall considered this. "What would be the prize for winning the tournament?" The Headmistress may have been approaching eighty years old, but she was not out of touch of what it meant to be young. The students would want something at the end, regardless of the fun and overall sportsmanship of the tournament.

This was the part Harry knew he would have a time getting past McGonagall, even if she agreed to the tournament. "I would think that it would work like the Quidditch Cup, in that you would earn a certain number of House points, as well as citing in the trophy room for your win. Certainly Gryffindor could use another place of honor at Hogwarts..."

At that, McGongall's lips thinned, but Harry recognized it as a suppressed smile. He had struck a chord in the Professor's competitive nature, regardless of the fact she was no longer Head of Gryffindor house. _Score_.

"This will have to be planned and arranged in painstaking detail, of course. I'm sure Filius would be happy to help you run this tournament, and pending his approval and subsequent plans, I am inclined to allow this. However, it is just that, Mr. Potter. This will be your responsibility. I need not remind you that more than your Advanced Defense class is at stake should things turn foul."

Harry nodded, swallowing as he realized his job would be at risk. That wasn't something he'd thought about, but made perfect sense. He couldn't allow students to come to permanent harm under his watch.

"Thank you, Professor, and I understand completely."

"Is that all Mr. Potter?"

He nodded. "Thank you for your time." It was always the same dismissal. Harry left her office, but not before a smile appeared on his face. Ginny would kill him for this. There was no telling what the hospital wing would have do deal with now that the students would be practicing at every chance.

--------------------

"You WHAT?!" Ginny was furious, just like he'd predicted. The couple had been walking around the Hogwarts grounds, and up until a few moments ago, hand in hand. The sounds of Quidditch practice were able to be heard if they were quiet, but Ginny's voice blocked them out entirely.

"I got McGonagall to agree to let me have a dueling tournament," Harry repeated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The redhead next to him was already turning bright crimson in fury.

"Harry! That is the most irresponsible thing I've ever heard! People could get hurt!"

He only grinned. "But that's what you're for."

Looking back, that might not have been such a good thing to say. "HARRY JAMES POTTER! _When_ did you get the idea that I have all the time in the world to look after _your_ students! I can't believe you!" She stalked off ahead of him, but not toward the castle. Harry followed, breaking into a slight jog to keep up with her angry stride.

"You'll get to see all kinds of things, Ginny. Think of it as a good education."

She whirled on him, her voice low and menacing. Harry knew from experience that everything was okay as long as she was yelling - he hadn't upset her too much at that point. But now he knew he'd crossed the line. Her finger speared into his chest, causing him to retreat from the sharp pain.

"That doesn't help, Potter." Something about her voice caused a horrible shiver down his spine, but a very small part of him wondered why she was so angry. Certainly she didn't think the tournament was _that_ bad of an idea? "I'm already overworked as it is and I don't need any more, and I especially don't need any more of your idiotic ideas!" She turned and strode away again, leaving a very shell-shocked wizard in her wake.

_Do I have that many idiotic ideas?_

--------------------

_Well, this is awkward..._Harry thought, some hours later. The moonlight filtered through a window and illuminated Ginny's disheveled form, which was standing next to the bed while he was tucked tight under the blankets. He suddenly regretted combining the two beds and wished she had a place to sleep that wasn't connected to him. It wasn't that he was mad at her, in fact, it was quite the opposite. He was slightly scared, because he didn't know what he'd done to upset her and had no idea what to say to her. She stood there, as if scared herself of crawling into bed with him. Something registered in Harry's mind, causing him to roll over and pull a certain cloak from under the bed and tossing it to her. He thought he saw a small smile before she disappeared.

He didn't have to wait long before the blankets moved of their own accord, rising to cover the invisible form of his girlfriend as they wrapped tightly around her. There was no way she would have been able to sleep anywhere else - the castle was downright freezing in the winter. Harry slid over next to her, wrapping an arm around the body he knew was there.

"Is that better?"

She didn't answer, but he felt her hand squeeze his gently. Harry gave her a moment to get comfortable and warm, and then began speaking in a whisper.

"What do you think you've done?"

Silence ensued for a moment, then Ginny's voice came out, choked as though she'd been crying. "I'm sorry Harry...I...I shouldn't have yelled at you. You didn't deserve it." She sniffed. Harry realized she was crying under the cloak, but he made no move to reveal her, as much as he wanted to. Instead, he pulled her closer with his arm and tried to make his voice soothing, like she did when she woke him up from a nightmare.

"It's okay Ginny. I'm not mad at you, and I'm not disappointed in you." That first conversation with her under the cloak was one he'd never forget.

"You should be..."

Harry shook his head. "Everyone gets angry, and I shouldn't have teased you when I realized you were upset over the tournament."

A sniff sounded next to him, then he felt a soft breath that must have come from a sigh. "It's not even about that...I just have a lot of things on my mind right now, and I'm under a lot of pressure."

He blinked. She'd never told him about this. "Why don't you talk to me about it? You know I'm always there for you."

A few moments passed before she could respond. "I didn't want to bother you. We were working so perfect, I didn't want to make you feel like you needed to help."

_Well, I do want to help_, Harry thought, and wondered if she didn't have a point. "What's bothering you?"

He felt her arm wrap around him, and her face planted against his chest. The hood was still up, obscuring her from his vision, but the pressure of her body pressing into against his was enough. He pulled her tighter into him, rubbing her back through the cloak and her school uniform. She hadn't even bothered to change.

"It seems like more and more people are coming to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey is giving me more work, I have to read about people who are suffering all the time, Rebecca wants to go through with the baby, and you know what the worst is? I'm having my bloody period." He felt his shirt dampen with her tears after her burst of speech, and he felt the soft heaving of her chest against his abdomen. It was a lot of information to process, but the last part stuck out at him, and not just because of the unfortunate wording.

"What does that have to do with it?"

He felt her head rise from his chest, and he could almost imagine the incredulous stare that she gave him. He squirmed uncomfortably, wondering if he should know something he didn't. Then...she laughed. A short, jarring, awkward laugh, but it was a laugh.

"Harry, I love you so much." Her voice was constricted, but sincere.

_I will never understand girls. Ever. _Harry realized this for the thousandth time, but it was all the more disturbing when it came about the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"I love you too Ginny, but..." He couldn't even voice what was bothering him.

"Harry, don't worry about it. You're just so innocent, and I love you for it." Whatever he had done, it encouraged her to pull the hood down on his cloak. Her eyes looked like hell, but she was smiling. Merlin, he loved that smile. The moon came out from behind a cloud and bathed the room in a soft light, but Harry wondered if it wasn't Ginny's smile that had lit up the room.

"Um...I'm...confused."

She laughed again, rubbing her nose affectionately into his chest. It was amazing how something so simple could pull her out of her depression and have her laughing. He was just so bloody _charming_, in his own unique way.

"You know what happens every month for a girl, right?"

He shuddered. When he'd expressed confusion about one of Dean's more crude jokes, Ron had pulled him to the side and explained. It was not a memory he wanted to relive.

"Yes..."

"Well, sometimes it's painful and I get cramps, and having to walk around in pain doesn't do too much for a girl's mood."

"Oh," was all Harry could reply. He desperately wished his parents had been around. Surely they would have told them such things. "Couldn't you get a potion from Madam Pomfrey?"

Ginny smiled. "I do, but that doesn't help with the hormones, and it's not completely effective."

Even as his mind screamed for him to change the subject, he couldn't help but be curious about all the other things about girls he didn't know. "Er...I'm sorry I didn't know...and..."

She cut him off with a finger to his lips. "Don't be sorry Harry. I don't mind talking about things with you, and I think it's kind of funny that you don't." She grinned, as if to prove herself. "It's cute."

Harry scowled. "You're laughing at me."

"Only in a good way." She sat up (or, that's what it felt like) and slipped out of the cloak. Her desire for his touch overrode any lasting guilt she felt, and besides that, it would be nearly impossible to tease him if she had the cloak on. She crawled on top of him and straddled him, leaning down to give him a soft, passionate kiss as her hair fell down on all sides of them. Harry had noted that he liked it longer, so she'd been letting it grow out again. The soft kiss turned into something more involved, specifically with tongues, causing Harry to grip her hips in his hands as she leaned onto her own, which were positioned on the bed at each of his ears.

They were locked together for several minutes, the kiss only breaking when Ginny moved down to his neck, sucking hard. Harry gasped as her teeth sunk into him, no longer attempting to hide his slight fetish for her bite. Something about it drove him mad, and he couldn't really explain it other than it felt like heaven to have her control him. She had moved up to his ear, biting the very top softly and pointedly pressing her chest into his face when something she'd said finally registered. He felt horrible for bringing it up, but he really wanted to stop Ginny before she got upset with him for leading her on.

"Rebecca is going through with the baby?"

Ginny stopped immediately, sitting back on his chest and sighing softly. "You really know how to ruin a moment, don't you?"

Harry winced after seeing the look on her face. He had given a lot of thought to his...problem...but that was something else he needed to talk to her about. It looked like it was going to be a long night.

"Sorry..."

Ginny sighed again, but understood. She knew that it wasn't something he could control, and it wasn't something silly like being scared. She'd tried to push him one time, but by the time she'd gotten his shirt almost to his shoulders, his eyes met her with a panic that had scared her more than anything she'd seen during the war. That was when she'd started listening to him when he told her to stop, and why she wasn't as upset with him as she should have been.

"It's okay Harry. And yes, she is going through with it."

That was a lot to contemplate, but now that Harry knew, he didn't really have any question but one. "What's she going to do with the baby?"

Ginny shook her head. "I don't know, that's what's so stressful about it. I don't want to have to send it to an orphanage, but that looks like what we're going to have to do."

Harry thought this over. The fleeting idea of taking it in and having Ginny and himself raise it crossed his mind, but was quickly squelched. He couldn't stand the idea of raising a child that wasn't his. It just wasn't right. For once, he agreed with Hermione on something. _Wait a second..._

"Didn't Hermione say the only reason she would consider adopting was if the parents were around to be in the kid's life?"

Ginny wasn't shocked at his idea, which meant she'd thought it over before too. "I don't think it would work. She really doesn't want a child if it's not hers...it makes her condition too real."

He nodded, but didn't completely outlaw the idea. Maybe he would have to talk to her about it - maybe she would listen to her brother, if not to anyone else. Harry looked up at the red-haired beauty above him and felt his heart melt. She was so beautiful, inside and out.

"Ginny?"

Her eyes turned to meet his in a clash of green and brown.

"I want you to know I want to give you what you want, and...I want to talk to you what's bothering me and get over it."

Her eyes sparkled with a happiness that he loved seeing in her, but she kept her voice controlled for his sake. She didn't want to appear too happy at him telling her about his problems, especially something like his childhood. It was an unwritten rule that no one, not even Hermione who had been his practical sister forever, asked about his life before Hogwarts. "I'm here to listen, whenever you feel like talking."

This was the hard part, the one where he knew he would crush her. "I'm not ready yet...I need some time to think about what I'm going to say." Well, that wasn't totally the truth. It was more like get the courage to say what he wanted to say, but she didn't need to know that. Not yet. "What are you doing for Christmas?"

He could almost see her sprits die. A smile remained on her face, but Christmas was nearly two months away. She didn't know if she could wait that long. A nasty voice inside of her told her she would because she loved him more than life itself, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Do I really have to wait that long?" The question was out before she could stop it, and immediately she regretted it. The pain in Harry's eyes wasn't worth it.

"Ginny..." He blinked, unexpected tears coming to the surface. Telling her no was getting more and more painful. "I can't do it here. I need somewhere I know I'm alone with you, and that we don't have to worry about the morning, and that I know nothing is going to happen."

She nodded in understanding, hoping he wouldn't drop into depression. He sometimes did that when he knew he'd disappointed her. "I'm going home to see my parents, and I think we're having a lot of people over. Mum's always wanted to throw a proper Christmas party, and now that she has all of us away, she can. We haven't talked about it with them yet, but I'm going to stay with Ron and Hermione to keep an extra bedroom for guests."

_Well, that worked out better than I thought_. It was enough to stave off his anger at himself. "Ginny...if you want to...you're welcome to stay with me. I'm going back to Grimmauld Place to stay."

Okay, so maybe she _looked_ like Christmas came early, but unfortunately, it didn't actually come any faster. Her emotions quickly subsided as doubt started to creep into her mind. "Are you sure? I mean...you wouldn't even tell us where you lived this summer."

He nodded. "As long as your Mum and Dad say it's all right."

Her face darkened at the mention of getting her parents' approval (wait, wasn't she eighteen and no longer living at home?), but she couldn't stay uncomfortable long. The idea of spending the holidays with Harry at his place was too wonderful, especially after his promise to tell her what was bothering him. A small part of her mind branched off, thinking of all the things she would do to him once he broke. A suggestive smile must have made its way onto her face, because Harry grinned under her.

"Easy there...I promise we'll bring in the New Year with a bang."

Nothing less than blatant shock could be found on Ginny's face. She stared down at him, her grin frozen in place, suddenly very still.

"Harry...have you...gone mad?"

He put on a hurt look. "Am I not allowed to be dirty?" Actually, he'd stolen that line from Seamus, but Ginny didn't need to know that.

"Of...of course you are..." She was still a little dazed that her cute and innocent Harry Potter had said anything like that. The Harry Potter that was terrified of even letting her take his shirt off. _He is serious about this..._

"I love you, Ginny Weasley." Harry smiled up at her, waiting. Her gaze returned to his eyes, her head still spinning a bit. _Why does he have to be so cute?_

"I love you too, Harry." She leaned down to kiss him, surprised to find her kiss returned with passion that outmatched her own. Usually he let her drive them, but tonight he was full of surprises. She could get used to this new Harry.

--------------------

Harry had ignored his letter from the Ministry of Magic, but there was another letter which arrived that Sunday that he couldn't ignore. In fact, he'd received it while Ginny was making a mysterious trip down to Hogsmeade that he couldn't come along on, and it had arrived just in time to cheer him up after watching her disappear through the gates. Interestingly enough, it came from Hedwig. Apparently Hermione _still_ hadn't gotten her own owl, even though he'd been giving Hedwig more and more work now that he was at school. Apparently parents were more involved in communicating with teachers than Harry had been led to believe.

In any case, Hedwig landed gently on his arm and nipped his ear affectionately. Harry seemed to be on very good terms as of late with the owl, and had no illusions about why. She seemed to always have a job, and he had a very sneaky feeling that she got compliments from all the parents on the speed of her return mail, as well as her beauty. He untied the parchment from her leg, letting the owl climb up to his shoulder. She apparently was interested in his mail too.

_Harry,_

_What do you think about Ron and I moving to Hogsmeade? I'm launching a new project for the Department, and I'm going to be able to work at home most of the time. Ron hates it because he's had to go through all kinds of Ministry confidentiality regulations, but I think he'll see the light when he realizes I'll be home all the time._

_Anyway, I'd like to know what you think, and if possible, I'd like you to see if you can scout out places for us to live. Just a small place as it will only be the two of us, and preferably away from the village center, but it would be a big help to see what's there. You needn't reply straight away - just think about it and I'm sure we'll be there soon to see for ourselves._

_Give my best to Ginny._

_Love,  
__Hermione_

As far as Harry was concerned, they could move into Hogwarts and he couldn't be happier. It was a little lonely without people his own age (all the staff was older and most of the students weren't even of age), and having his two best friends would be amazing. And on top of that, it gave him an excuse to walk through Hogsmeade with Ginny looking at houses...though he was sure houses wasn't the only thing he'd be looking at.

_What's gotten into me? I used to be able to think about her without thinking about her like _that...

Harry sighed. Whatever it was, he had to do something about it. Christmas seemed almost too long of a wait, but he hoped Quidditch was able to distract them both. Thoughts of Quidditch led him naturally to flying, which led him to his nighttime adventures, the ones he'd been without since he'd started sleeping in Ginny's bed. He missed them. Maybe he and Ginny could sneak out for one next weekend. He'd quickly found that nighttime broom rides during the week weren't such a good idea - one tended to come back very late and the next morning tended to be hell.

_I'll take her flying this afternoon,_ Harry decided. Maybe the nighttime trips were something he'd save for himself - there was something special about them, something that allowed him to think. As much as he knew he'd love to have Ginny along, he knew he needed that alone time just as much.

--------------------

"I don't believe how much I've missed this," Ginny said, flying alongside Harry around the Quidditch pitch that afternoon. They had about thirty minutes between practices of the House teams, and Harry had suggested taking full advantage. Normally, she would have been flying way back when term started, but with everything going on and not being on the house team, she'd had to take two months off. Harry hadn't flown in over a year before he'd started his nighttime flights. They'd already done the requisite racing around the pitch to get the wind in their face, and now they were just enjoying each other's company in the air. Harry supposed she didn't like racing so much because his Firebolt outstripped her second-hand broom by a mile.

"I miss Quidditch," Harry said, sighing softly into the wind. She looked over at him with no sympathy.

"You had plenty of offers to play, Potter."

Harry turned sharply and looped around her, laughing at her indignance. She was muttering something about having a better broom and flying circles around him by the time he responded.

"Somehow, being here at Hogwarts with you is so much better."

There, he'd done it again. Ginny felt her self flush, and it had nothing to do with the rush of cold wind in her face. He'd said another one of those stupid, tiny little things that made her all warm inside. She sped ahead to keep him from noticing. Her hair flew behind her like fire, and Harry couldn't help but take note of how beautiful she looked. Neither could the Slytherins, apparently, because they were trudging out to the field for their practice while cat-calling at her.

The couple exchanged silent communication, and then sped off to land near the entrance to the castle, away from the Slytherin Quidditch squad. Harry remembered the letter in his pocket and took it out, showing it to Ginny after they'd landed.

"Are they really going to?" She seemed to be as excited as Harry had upon first reading the letter.

"It seems so. I'll admit, it'll be nice having them out here. I know they liked being close to their work, but Ron can get over himself. He likes apparating anyway."

Ginny laughed. Her brother was probably the only wizard she'd met that liked apparition after the novelty had worn off. For her, the unpleasant squeezing was bearable, but not something she'd want to do every day. Floo wasn't much better.

"Well, I guess we'll _have_ to go look for them a place to live." Ginny smiled mischievously, and Harry nodded.

"I don't know though, spending all day in Hogsmeade with you might be a bother..."

Ginny gaped at him. "You prat!" She smacked his shoulder, but giggled in delight as he picked her up by her waist and spun her around.

"Seriously Harry, what's gotten into you?" She looked happy, but somehow Harry knew it was a serious question. It didn't take much for her to realize he was treating her differently, less reserved.

"I...I don't know." Well, he didn't _know_, but he had a suspicion. The night he'd gone broom-riding and figured out his physical intimacy problem, he'd also thought about a lot of things. Once he'd realized that he could (eventually) give her whatever she wanted, his thoughts for the future had become limitless. And that had caused a feeling of great happiness, as well as a burden to lift from his shoulders. He felt like he could throw himself into the relationship full force and not hurt either of them.

"I just feel like...like it's real." That was the best way to describe it. At times, he'd felt like he was living someone else's life, like he'd been back in those weeks before Dumbledore's death.

"Took you long enough," Ginny said, kissing his lips softly. When she pulled back, she stared into his eyes with an expression that Harry knew to be deep thought.

"Is anything bothering you?"

She shook her head, smiling as if to show him otherwise. "No...I was just thinking about how different our relationship is..." She didn't say she'd been thinking about all of the problems Harry had because of his childhood, and she was glad that they'd worked through most of them.

"Am I doing anything wrong?"

"No, Harry." She sighed. They'd had this conversation before, though he did seem to be getting better about it. "You are a wonderful boyfriend, and I love you. Trust me to tell you if there's anything wrong."

He looked down, and then nervously shifted his eyes back up to hers. "I love you too."

But Ginny wasn't paying attention. She was grinning madly, her eyes infecting themselves with a hard glint. "Did Harry Potter just look down my shirt?" She didn't seem at all upset...in fact, she seemed quite pleased.

"Er...no..."

"You're a terrible liar, hero-boy." She kissed him again, her hand wrapping around to the back of his head, trying to force him to look again, but he wouldn't have it. Not after she'd just assigned him that horrid name.

"Hero-boy? Since when do you call me that?"

She bit her lip, looking a bit like the child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Umm...since...now?"

"I don't like it."

"Maybe you should have thought of that _before_ you saved the world twice." She grinned, her arms wrapping tighter around his neck.

Harry groaned, leaning his head back into her forearms and closing his eyes. "Must you?"

"I think it's adorable!" She said in a very un-Ginnyish voice. Harry gave her a piercing stare, as if saying _Don't patronize me. _Ginny laughed and tugged on his robes. "Come on, _Hero-boy_. Let's get inside. It's cold out here."


	13. Privet Drive

_Author's Note: Ah...the time has finally come to look out for my own safety. I'm moving the rating up to Mature as a precaution, and as a measure for chapters to come. There's one tiny bit in this chapter that might constitute the change, but I decided to do it now just to be safe._

_I originally planned Christmas break to be one chapter. Ha. It looks like it's going to be at least two, if not more. I'm actually really nervous about these chapters because I've really wanted to write them, and I really want to know what everyone thinks. This one gets fluffy at the end, but don't worry – Harry gets plenty of chance to confront his demons next chapter in a slightly less than fluffy scene. But that's next chapter - you worry about reading this one. _:D

_Enjoy!_

-JS

* * *

_**Chapter Thirteen: Privet Drive**_

November passed in alternating bouts of lightning speed and dreadful slowness. The Quidditch season picked up, and despite his post as a teacher, Harry found himself quite partial to the Gryffindor team. Unfortunately, they hadn't found a good keeper since Ron Weasley, and it showed in their championship hopes. Though the Gryffindor seeker was decent at getting the snitch, the team had a habit of being more than 150 points behind when it was caught. Naturally, this depressed Harry ("I could catch it fast enough that the score wouldn't matter.") and Ginny ("I would score so much we couldn't lose"), but they had their minds on other things, like Ron and Hermione's move to Hogsmeade.

It was surprising how fast it happened - by the middle of November the couple was all moved in and Harry had offered to put his own wards on the place, assisted by Professor Flitwick for some of the more complicated charms. Hermione refused to allow Harry to use some of the magic he'd found in studying the dark arts, but even McGonagall seemed amazed at how well the house was warded when she visited them for dinner one evening.

The house itself was a modest, two bedroom affair (which Hermione quickly converted into one bedroom, one library), but it wasn't small and had all of the modern amenities for a young witch and wizard looking to settle down. Ron had even taken it upon himself to do some remodeling while Hermione was in London checking in at the department, but in the end he had to call upon Harry to come fix the mess before his wife killed him. The place was also tucked away from the busy parts of the village, just like Hermione expressed in her letter. Ginny had lit up with delight upon finding it, making a subtle reference to Harry that it was something that she too might like. Harry had laughed at that, reminding her that they would probably live at Hogwarts for the rest of their lives. That earned him a sour look for a moment before Ginny realized he was admitting his desire to live with her forever.

Lessons for Miss Princeton continued, and much to Harry's surprise, she started improving. Once the young Ravenclaw opened up to him and told him of her fears, she seemed to stop running and fought them as well as the Imperius Curse. By the beginning of December, she was already staying aware while under Harry's influence, and if something distracted him for even an instant, she could push him out and break the curse. Her delight at making real progress only seemed to feed her ability to fight, and Harry found himself feeling very happy for her. Indeed, she was no longer just a student to him; he felt more like her guardian, though he was only three years her senior.

In fact, one of the only stressors in Harry's life came from Ginny herself. He quickly found what that mysterious trip to Hogsmeade was about, and her assurances she would help take care of his intimacy problem - the fiery redhead had gone clothes shopping; though not for anything she would wear outside of Harry's presence. Indeed, it seemed she was wearing less and less to bed, and more and more Harry was getting used to the skin to skin contact, though he refused to come to bed with anything less on himself. Ginny considered it a small victory, and though she had hoped for more, Christmas holidays were fast approaching and she wouldn't have to wait long before she could take advantage of his promise.

It was a week before their Winter Break before she forced him into anything (other than sleeping with her half-naked form, but Harry hadn't had _too_ many complaints about that), and that time came while they were lying in bed, wrapped around each other on a Sunday morning with light streaming through the window, giving Ginny (in Harry's eyes) an angelic glow as the light played off her brilliantly red-orange hair.

"Harry...?" Her voice was a slight whine, one that he'd had to get used to when she wanted something, but was going to be playful about it. Thankfully for him, this particular morning Ginny had decided to wear decent pajama pants, though her extremely tight and probably two sizes too small T-shirt left almost nothing about her upper body to his imagination.

"Mmmm?" He only made a soft hum to indicate he was listening. Ginny would ask him for whatever it was she wanted regardless of what he said.

"Do you think I'm attractive?" Her voice was anything but serious - it sounded more like she was toying with him.

He smiled at her, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Ginny was one of the few girls who was very attractive and knew it; it was clear in the way she flaunted herself to Harry in front of other males to torture them, and even other females that happened to look at him the wrong way. That wasn't what she wanted to know, but she never missed an opportunity to get a compliment.

"Of course you are..." His lips brushed hers as if sealing the deal. Ginny smiled with her eyes closed, but she slowly opened them to capture his in a loving gaze. Her arms slid out from around her neck, one hand sliding down to grab his wrist and pull it up to chest level.

"Then how can you keep your hands off me?" Her voice was still playful, but confused Harry all the same.

"What do you think I'm doing right now?" He had a point - his other arm was wrapped around her, pulling her lithe form into his embrace, with his hand resting on the skin of her lower back where her shirt didn't meet her pants.

She shook her head slowly, letting her hair fall in front of her face like a veil. "Nuh uh...you never touch me right _here_." Before Harry could react, she pulled his hand into her (quite shapely) chest. He resisted the urge to pull back, not wanting to let her win. In truth, he really didn't have an answer for her...it was just something he always avoided.

But bloody hell, he loved the feel of her breast cupped in his hand. Even though her shirt (she'd stopped wearing a bra to bed shortly after they'd started sleeping together, much to Harry's discomfort), it was soft as well as big enough to fill his palm and fingers with warmth without being overwhelming. Ginny bit her lip, waiting for his response and trying not to giggle at the pleasure his increasingly firm caress caused. He pulled away faster than she would have liked, but she let his wrist go and looked back up at him, her upper teeth still holding her bottom lip.

"You're absurdly cute when you do that," Harry said, brushing her cheek with the same hand that had just been on her chest. She blushed at the compliment, not sure how to reply, but Harry continued. "And...I don't know why...I guess it's over that line that I'm comfortable with." It sounded so wrong when he put it that way, but he couldn't think of anything else, and he certainly wasn't going to say nothing.

"Harry, you know my body is yours, however much of it you want."

He nodded, though he wasn't sure he exactly believed her. Well, it wasn't that he didn't believe her, it was just he didn't _want_ all that entailed. Not until he worked out his own problems. "I'm sure I'll be taking full advantage of that soon."

She grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again, making sure to rub her chest against his. He didn't seem to notice her rubbing as his arms folded around her, his tongue prodding hers playfully before she rolled on top of him and drew him into a deeply passionate kiss.

--------------------

The next week was agonizing for Ginny. It seemed to get slower and slower as it wore on, and her work with Rebecca wasn't making it any easier. The girl had already started to show, but she refused to be removed from classes and tutored by her teachers privately. Already rumors had started going around school about her, and her Monday session that week with Harry was spent talking about dealing with all the unwanted attention. She seemed to take comfort in Harry's presence, as he was the one person who understood a little of what she going through in terms of bad publicity, and he always seemed to want to help her.

The Saturday after term ended, Harry and Ginny went shopping for Christmas presents. Ginny mentioned something about giving him time to get hers, and that she'd already gotten his so she would head back to the castle. When he asked when she'd gotten it, Harry only received a maddening smile and silence. He could only assume she'd picked it up while shopping for a new wardrobe last month.

The Hogwarts Express had left the previous day, so the couple had no choice but to apparate home. Ginny had seemed quite shocked about the idea of making the trip in one jump, but then again, Harry surprised everyone but Ron and Hermione with his magic these days. It took a strong bit of that magic from Harry to compress all of their gifts, packages, and travel bags into one duffel bag sized parcel. Ginny was somewhat worried that they wouldn't come out right, but Harry assured her everything would be in perfect condition when they arrived home.

They made a stop by Grimmauld Place to drop everything off ("Don't tell my parents yet," Ginny warned), and Harry was glad he'd sent Dobby ahead to clean everything up. The place looked as good as it ever had, and Ginny looked impressed with his housekeeping skills. Harry thought it convenient not to inform her that all of it had been a house-elf's doing.

The Burrow looked even more welcoming than usual with all of the magical lights around, and apparently Mrs. Weasley had broken out all of the Christmas charms in the book. Ginny smiled at the cheer in the air - it seemed to be a perfect outward representation of how her life was going at the moment. The couple walked inside hand in hand, only to be assaulted by a very spirited Molly Weasley, forcing them to break apart as Ginny was engulfed by her mother's arms.

"It's nice to see you too Mum." Ginny sniggered as Harry got the same treatment. Upon hearing Mrs. Weasley's delight, Arthur came into the room and smiled at the both of them. He also knew to give Molly her "mother time" before he greeted his daughter and adopted son.

"You both look so grown up! I can't believe how much you've changed in four months."

Ginny blushed, but luckily Harry wasn't as easily embarrassed. "Thank you Mrs. Weasley. I might say you look rather wonderful yourself."

None of the other three seemed to know what to make of that, so they burst out laughing. Harry slightly expected this, but it didn't keep him from being slightly embarrassed.

"Now now Harry, I can't have you stealing my daughter _and_ my wife." Arthur gave him a humorous wink.

"And his daughter-in-law," Hermione said, entering the room and giving Harry a warm hug. She and Ron had come with the Hogwarts Express and had been staying at the Burrow until more guests arrived and the Weasleys needed the rooms. Ron rolled his eyes from the stairs, but gave Harry a lopsided grin all the same.

--------------------

Harry and Ginny spent a nice afternoon with the other four Weasleys, catching them up on everything that had happened since the term started, though they left a few things out, including Harry and Ron's duel. The Golden Trio was out sharing a little time together; they hadn't had much with just the three of them since the end of the war, though with Ron and Hermione's move it was getting better. Ginny found her mother working up something for dinner after leaving the three to their light conversation.

"Anything I can help with Mum?"

"No dear, I think I have everything under control." The elder Weasley woman gave her daughter a warm smile. "You just worry about enjoying yourself."

Ginny didn't leave the kitchen immediately, which made it clear she had something to say, but it took her a moment to gather the confidence. "If it's all right, I think I'm going to stay with Harry for the holidays. I don't need to take up room here when I have somewhere else I can sleep. I'll be over here most of the time in the day anyway."

Mrs. Weasley's expression hardened. She hadn't forgotten about the incident this summer when her daughter and Harry had started to work out their problems. "Has he asked you to stay?"

"Yes..." Ginny wondered why her mother could possibly be opposed to this. She'd hoped for a quick, clean conversation.

"I don't even know where you'll be. I don't think this is a good idea."

Ginny sighed. "I'll be at Grimmauld Place. Harry's been living there since the war, and it's in really nice condition, and it's still protected by the Fidelius. You won't have to worry about me being safe."

"Your safety isn't what I'm worried about." Ginny blinked. Her mother was acting very odd - she'd never had this sort of conversation with her before. "I know Harry would never let anything happen to you, and if he can't protect you, no one can. I'm more worried about what you two will do together."

Ginny turned furiously red and couldn't seem to look anywhere but at the floor. "Mum! We're not doing anything like that!" _Yet..._

Unfortunately, Molly didn't seem to believe her. "I haven't forgotten what it's like to be young and in love, Ginevra."

"I promise! Harry doesn't want to take that step yet, Mum." Yet, as in not now, but within the next couple days. Ginny didn't think her mother needed to know that. "Nothing is going on that Hermione wouldn't mind walking in on." She was going to say Ron, but some of their snogging sessions might have caused her older brother to vomit.

"Then maybe Ron and Hermione can stay with you two?" A glint of victory appeared in her mother's eye, but Ginny wasn't going to give up.

"Ewww...mum, I don't want to have to listen to _them_. You can't possibly think Ron keeps his hands to himself."

She had to grant her daughter that one. The couple was married; they had every right to do what they wanted in terms of their love life. But Ginny was different...she was the only Weasley daughter in generations, and she was still young and quite unmarried. "You should know all about Silencing Charms, Ginny."

"Actually Mum, I wouldn't, because Harry and I don't need them." She gave her mother a distasteful look. "And I'm sorry if I'm a little odd, but just the idea that my brother is...er...doing that in the next room is not something that will help me sleep." A bit of the Ginny Weasley temper was starting to flare - she had a shot at breaking through Harry's final barriers, both emotional and physical, and she'd be damned if her mother was going to stand in the way.

Molly, on the other hand, looked torn. She couldn't hold her daughter back forever, but couldn't she just insist upon it this one last time? Surely Harry would be coming to his senses soon and asking her hand in marriage...couldn't they just wait? But her mother's instincts kicked in at Ginny's slight anger, and knew this wasn't a battle she was going to win, whether or not Ginny stayed with Harry. She might get that, but it would be a miserable holiday if her only daughter was upset with her.

"You know all of the precautionary charms?"

"Mum! I'm not a little girl anymore!" Ginny was very glad Harry wasn't around for this conversation. It would have been supremely awkward, and not to mention downright embarrassing when he teased her about it later. Her mother gave her a sharp look, but turned back to the vegetables. Ginny was only too happy to leave her to it and join the Trio outside to watch the sunset.

-------------------

The night after their return home was a late one; Harry and Ginny didn't return to Grimmauld Place until the early hours of the morning. By the time they got home, it was all either of them could do to trudge into the master bedroom and fall down on the bed without even changing into nightclothes. Both of them slept for a solid ten hour block - the only thing that stirred was Hedwig coming in from her trip from Hogwarts.

Harry awoke about noon feeling rather strange...Ginny wasn't in his arms like usual. Even if she woke before him, she always waited for him to wake before getting up to ready for the day, but this morning apparently she'd decided to get up earlier. He groped for his glasses, finding them on the bedside table and shoving them on to find Ginny was also not in the room.

_This is weird..._

He knew it was a bit irrational to believe he would wake up with her in his arms every morning for the span of their lives, but he could hope, couldn't he? Instinctively, he made his way to the bathroom and took care of his pressing bladder issue as well as his breath (he was looking forward to his good morning kiss), and then he headed down to the kitchen.

To his surprise, Ginny was already dressed in her everyday robes (something Harry had to get used to - he still wore muggle clothes when around the house) and setting breakfast on the table for them. It didn't look like something quick and easy either; it was a breakfast worthy of the Molly Weasley household. She grinned at his stunned look, setting down her wand and coming over to give him a soft kiss on the lips.

"You know, I am good for more than snogging," she teased, gesturing toward the table. Harry's eyes shifted between her and the wonderful looking food.

"Apparently..."

She grinned and pushed him toward his seat, taking her own chair across from him. Harry felt a little odd sharing a breakfast with someone after living alone in the place for almost a year, and then eating with hundreds of other kids, but he supposed he could get used to it if Ginny decided to cook like this every morning.

"Don't expect this every morning," she said around a sausage. _So much for that._ "I was just in the mood to cook and you were still having your beauty sleep."

Harry was too engrossed in his meal to say much more than "Mmhmm." Ginny smiled knowingly, letting him enjoy the nice home cooked breakfast for a few minutes before talking to him again.

"So what are you planning on doing today?"

Harry blinked as he swallowed a (probably too large) bite. "No idea. I was just going to see what you wanted to do."

Ginny let out an exaggerated sigh. "You're so boring, Harry. Don't you do anything for fun?"

"You."

He said it without thinking, but Ginny got a familiar warm feeling inside all the same. There it was again - the open, carefree lover that she knew he could be, instead of the uptight, panicked boyfriend he was all too often.

"So when are you going to get around to making that not a lie?" Ginny asked, feigning disinterest.

Harry shrugged. "Whichever night you're ready." He too feigned a disinterest, but in his head thoughts were flying at a thousand miles a minute. He had no idea what he was going to tell her, or how he could even begin to tell the stories he needed without breaking down before even getting halfway through. He'd thought about using the Pensieve that Dumbledore had willed to him, but he wasn't sure showing Ginny that much detail would be a good idea.

"Tonight?" She tried not to sound too eager, but failed miserably.

Harry nodded, too deep in thought to tease her. "Er..." He paused. "Would you want to use a Pensieve? It would be a lot easier than trying to tell a story, but I will if you don't want to know that much."

Ginny gave him a sad look. She knew exactly what he was suggesting - he didn't think she'd be able to handle some of the memories that he showed her. While she couldn't convince herself that he was absolutely wrong, she knew she wanted to try and that it would help him much more if she could be strong through all of it.

"Harry, I want to know as much about you as you can show me."

He nodded, stabbing his food with a fork but not eating it. Thinking had ruined his appetite, and he was too worried about what she might think of him after the next few days to try to force down anything. Ginny began cleaning the dishes, sensing that he wasn't going to eat any more. She didn't fuss like her mother, but she made a mental note to herself to make sure Harry ate plenty for lunch and dinner after his half-breakfast. After waving her wand at the dishes to start them washing themselves, she turned and stood behind Harry, laying her arms loosely around his neck and kissing the top of his head.

"Harry?"

He reached up and held her hands in his to acknowledge her.

"Do you think I could go see where you lived with your Aunt and Uncle?"

His reaction was about what she expected. His back went as stiff as a board, and his hands tightened around hers. His head turned and tried to get a good look at her, but he had to turn his body before he could look into her eyes.

"You really want to?"

She nodded. It would be painful for Harry to take her, but it was something they could do in the day, and honestly, she wanted to meet his relatives as well as see where he lived for most of his life. It was an important part of his past she had no connection to, and it almost bothered her.

"I..." Harry faltered. He didn't know how his Aunt and Uncle would take him showing up unannounced. He didn't even know what had happened to Dudley after his schooling. On his seventeenth birthday, Harry had left the Dursleys to their muggle ways and delved deep into the war against Voldemort. The parting hadn't been bitter in any way, just a matter of fact. "I can't guarantee anything."

Ginny was quick to nod and show her understanding. "I know Harry...I just want to go. I don't expect anything."

He couldn't say anything more to that. He leaned back into his chair, letting Ginny's lips brush across his cheek comfortingly. There was no telling what the Dursley's reaction to Harry and Ginny would be, but interrupting them on a Sunday didn't seem like Harry's best idea ever. The only certain thing was it was going to be a long day.

--------------------

Privet Drive was exactly as Harry had remembered it. It was the epitome of Muggle, with their freshly cut lawns, their moderately priced cars in the driveway, and their perfectly proportionate houses. He took almost no notice of anything as he walked down the street, but Ginny seemed to be trying to remember everything. Harry had convinced her to change into muggle clothes so she didn't irritate the Dursleys any more than she had to, but there was still something distinctly magical about her. Or maybe that was Harry's imagination.

The couple walked hand-in-hand up to the Dursleys' front door. Ginny gave her boyfriend a comforting look and a squeeze of the hand as he raised his wand arm to knock on the door. The wait was intense, and Harry's heart had time to start pounding before the sound of a lock disengaging met his ears, and the door opened just a bit.

"What are you doing here?" Dudley hissed, though with a hint of fear in his voice. He hid behind the door as if it would protect him, causing Ginny to fight down a laugh. It was so easy to forget that Harry was the most powerful wizard in the world and not just that little boy she'd first seen ask her mum for directions to Platform Nine and Three-quarters.

"I've come to see your Mum and Dad," Harry replied quietly. Of course Dudley still lived at home. He would probably live at home for the remainder of his life.

"What do you want with them?"

By this time, Harry could hear Vernon's booming voice come from the other side of the house. "Who's at the door, Dudley?"

The (still) overly large boy squeaked, a reaction that might have been worthy of Peter Pettigrew himself. "No one, Dad." Dudley's eyes flashed at Harry. "You best be gone by the time Dad gets here."

Harry was inclined to agree, but Ginny wouldn't give up so easily. "I'd really like to meet Harry's uncle...I've known your cousin for years, but I've never met any of his family." Now Harry was the one fighting down a laugh. She _never_ talked like that to anyone...it was almost like she thought she was talking to a retarded child. If that was the case, Harry wasn't likely to disagree with her assessment.

"Why..." Dudley's question was cut off by the thick form of Uncle Vernon, who was taller than his son, but just as big around. It seemed all dieting plans had gone out the window with Harry's departure.

"BOY! I thought I told you to never show your ugly face here again!" Okay, so maybe the parting had been just a tad more than a fact.

Ginny shivered, but Harry took this as completely normal. It amazed her what people could get used to after living with it for ten years. "Hullo, Uncle Vernon. I wanted to show my girlfriend where I lived while I was at school...would you mind if we came in?"

He knew all too well what his uncle's response would be (and the fact that he had an extremely attractive girlfriend didn't help matters), but astonishingly enough, he was never able to give it. Petunia's beady eyes made an appearance, and they went immediately to looking Ginny over, a small gasp escaping her tiny form.

"Vernon, let them in. You and Dudders are due for a day out, aren't you?"

_What?_ Harry had never seen Petunia talk to her husband like that; not since Dumbledore's howler back in the summer before his fifth year. Vernon had always been the man of the house and the law, but apparently Harry had been wrong, because his uncle turned a very embarrassing shade of purple as he bottled up his anger.

"Come on Dudley. We're going." The spoiled nineteen-year-old made avid protests as his father dragged him past Harry and Ginny, who both were looking quite confused.

"Come in," Petunia said curtly, her eyes never leaving Ginny. It made the young witch feel rather uncomfortable, but nothing could stop her from being supportive of Harry. She followed him through the doorframe, letting go of his hand as they passed Petunia. His aunt shut the door behind them, looking very out of sorts.

"Would you two like some tea?"

Harry stared. _Since when has she decided to be...pleasant?_ He was too shocked to answer, so Ginny accepted for them. The odd trio came into the kitchen, where a pot of tea was waiting on the stove. Harry and Ginny (who was rapidly memorizing every detail of the house, noting there was no signs that either Harry or a wizard had ever lived there) sat at the table while Petunia poured some tea for them, as she already had a cup on the table.

She joined them, stealing another glance at Ginny that was even starting to make Harry uncomfortable.

"Aunt Petunia, this is my girlfriend Ginny Weasley," Harry introduced awkwardly. The two nodded at each other.

"It's nice to finally meet you." Ginny offered amiably.

"She's one of your kind, I expect?" Harry felt a sliver of anger at his aunt's ignoring of Ginny, but he kept it in check.

"Yes..."

Awkward silence followed, but neither Harry nor Ginny wanted to speak. He didn't know what he'd expected, but he'd hoped to just be able to show Ginny around the house and leave without significant conversation.

"She looks like Lily."

Harry had to blink and reprocess that to make sure he heard right. First, Petunia _never_ talked about his mum...and...Ginny looked like her? Now that he thought about it, Ginny looked a bit like the picture Hagrid had given him for a present...

"Thank you, Mrs. Dursley. I've seen pictures of Harry's mum, and she was very beautiful."

Petunia scowled. Harry assumed she was jealous - Lily seemed to have gotten the good looks of the family, if the two women sitting at the table were any judge.

"Why did you come here?"

Harry wasn't sure who she was asking, but he answered anyway. "Ginny wanted to see where I lived while I was at school. I couldn't talk her out of it." Granted, he hadn't tried, but it would sound better if he hadn't just agreed.

"Then you best be on with it, I suppose?"

The abrupt dismissal surprised both Harry and Ginny. Harry muttered an agreement, then led Ginny out of the kitchen and upstairs to the bedroom that Ron, Fred, and George had broken him out of after his first year at school. Ginny walked slowly into the room, her eyes scanning every piece of junk that Dudley had been able to shove in it. Surprisingly, it looked much like Harry had left it on his seventeenth birthday; apparently the Dursleys hadn't wanted to come in here after years of his presence. She walked around the room with a scowl for a few minutes before saying anything.

"You slept on that?" She gestured to his bed, which had fallen into a state of disrepair and shabbiness that couldn't be comfortable. Harry nodded.

"Hedwig's cage used to sit here." He gestured toward a spot by the window, drawing Ginny's eyes to it. She walked over to the window, smiling softly at the marks of repair work while Harry sat on the bed.

"I can't believe you lived here...this room is just a big pile of rubbish."

Harry wondered what she'd think of the cupboard when they got to that. "It's not that bad, really. Though that loose floorboard saved my life." He gestured toward the floor. "Kept all of the things everyone sent me there so Dudley couldn't steal the food, and I kept whatever homework I was working on there."

Ginny's eyes flashed with irritation again. She was starting to dislike Harry's relatives more and more the longer she was in their home. The floorboard came up easily, but there wasn't that much room under it. He couldn't have stored that many things there.

"So you spent all of your time in this room?"

Harry nodded to a sigh from Ginny. "Well, not all of the time. Before Hagrid came to deliver my letter, I lived in the cupboard under the stairs."

Ginny gasped, putting a hand over her mouth in surprise. _Surely they wouldn't..._But she had no doubts about the Dursleys anymore. "You lived...under the stairs?"

Harry nodded, standing again. "I can show you if you want."

As the couple came to the cupboard door, Harry's mind began flashing through all of his memories inside. Ginny looked at him for approval before opening the door and jumping back in surprise as a spider almost crawled onto her hand. She gave Harry another disbelieving look before peering inside.

The place hadn't changed much at all since Harry's stay all those years ago. There was a thin layer of dust about everything (He seriously doubted Petunia came in to clean often), and there were still remains of where Harry had snuck packaged food in after dark. Not that the Dursleys would have noticed - Dudley ate so much food it was hard to tell when anything was missing.

"Harry...?"

He looked in on Ginny, who was exploring the small details with quite a bit of disgust.

"How did you do this? How could you spend your life in here?"

Harry shifted nervously on his feet; the last thing he wanted was his aunt walking in on them talking about how horrible she was to him. "I didn't really have much choice...I grew up knowing this. I didn't really know what I was missing. And sometimes being in there was better than being out here."

Ginny scowled in anger. She backed out, brushing herself off for all the good it did and then closed the door. "I'm going to have to shower again when we get home..."

Harry looked over her shoulder to see Petunia looking at him with a scowl. Great. Harry set aside Ginny's comment for the time being and addressed his aunt.

"Thank you for letting us in, Aunt Petunia. We better be going now."

Ginny looked like she wanted to have a few choice words (and possibly a bat-bogey hex) with Harry's aunt, but she held back as Harry's hand slid into hers.

"Do you plan on ever returning?"

Harry's grip on Ginny's hand tightened to keep her from speaking. "I don't think so. I guess this is goodbye." Saying goodbye had been a lot easier with Vernon practically kicking him out the door.

"Here." She handed him a small, flat box. "Lily would have wanted you to have it."

The surprise was evident on both Harry and Ginny's face. Petunia left, as if she couldn't stand doing something nice for him. Harry glanced at his girlfriend.

"Let's open it at home. You don't want to be here when your uncle and cousin come back." She pulled his hand toward the door, almost having to drag him from his spot due to shock.

--------------------

"Why would she hold something of my mum's back from me for so long?!" Harry was angry. Once the shock had worn off, the anger had slowly started to set in, to the point that Ginny watched it creep into his facial expression piece by piece.

"Harry, she didn't want you to ever feel good about being there. And I don't think your Uncle would have let her anyway. That's why she sent him away."

"So? Something this important shouldn't be kept from me!"

Why was it that this got him angry? Years of mistreatment had only gotten a sigh and a shrug from him, but one incident of withholding something of his mother's set him off? Ginny didn't know what it was like to not have any family, and she hoped she never would if this was any indication. She silently vowed that her children would never have to go through what Harry had, even if something happened to the both of them.

"Harry, she gave it to you. Just let it go, it's not important. You're never going to see them ever again." The irony of herself telling someone to let something go was not lost on her.

"That's not the point though!" He sighed and deflated his anger with the expulsion. His body slumped into a sofa in the living room, which apparently had been fixed up by Dobby, because it was quite comfortable. Ginny slipped down next to him, snuggling into his side and laying an arm across him. Harry almost told her that she wasn't helping, but he didn't need her mad at him on top of everything else, so he tried to block it out of his mind.

"Harry, you're just angry at them for how they treated you. That's all. You're safe from them now. You're going to live with me for the rest of your life, and you know I'll never treat you like that."

It took him a moment to process what she'd just slipped. Maybe this was one of those hints Hermione had talked to him about a few weeks ago when Harry had expressed discomfort at the talk of marriage. She'd said that Ginny would start hinting at it when she wanted to be asked, and all Harry had to do was watch for them. Petunia's gift lay unopened and forgotten on the table at the end of the couch; Harry's mind was on something completely different.

"You really want to live with me the rest of your life?"

It was all she could do not to give him an idiotic look. "Harry, that's all I've ever wanted to do since I was ten."

Harry shook his head. "I don't see how you can stand me for so long. I'm hopeless when it comes to you."

Ginny laughed, glad that he wasn't going to be in a sour mood all day. "It's cute and you know it. I can put up with a little thickheadedness if it means keeping your innocence. I've put up with Ron my whole life; you're like the icing on the cake."

Harry snorted, but he had to give her that point. Ron was much less knowledgeable about the girl thing than he was. _Oh yeah? Then why is he married and you're not?_ A nasty voice in the back of Harry's head observed this before being squelched and tossed into the dark recesses of his consciousness.

"You're trying to take away my innocence as fast as possible," Harry pointed out, smiling.

Ginny shook her head, her hair somehow winding up in his face. "You'll always be innocent in my eyes...even after I'm done shagging you senseless."

"We'll see who's senseless when _I'm_ done with you."

She gave him a look that said, _Are you kidding me?_ "Harry. I don't even think you have a chance, what, with all of your experience."

Experience? Ginny had experience with shagging? He tried to keep the pained look off his face. "You...you've..."

"No!" She turned furiously red and slapped his chest, half in embarrassment, half because the thought upset her. "You...you think I'm that much of a slag?" She'd always feared that with her dating Michael, Dean, and now Jared. The incident where Ron and Harry had caught her snogging Dean burned in her memory.

"No that's not what I meant," Harry said quickly, squirming under her. "I...I just wondered."

Ginny felt his squirm, which eased her nerves considerably. "Harry, I saved myself for you. Anything important I saved for you. I must have been mad at the time, but now I'm glad I did." She crawled up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Harry wasn't sure what to say - calling your girlfriend a slag wasn't the best way to continue a conversation.

"I'd take you no matter what."

If possible, she smiled even bigger. "Thank you Harry. That means a lot to me, but I didn't ever do anything past snogging, and I want you to know that. I'll let you look at my memories if you want." The Pensieve hadn't left her mind since Harry mentioned it at breakfast.

Harry considered doing just that, then chastised himself for his jealous streak. He didn't have to be anymore - Ginny was his, and his alone. "I trust you, Ginny. I don't need to go through your mind to know that what you tell me is the truth."

She wrapped tighter around him before speaking in feigned irritation. "Stop doing that Harry!" She growled playfully as she rested her forehead against his. "Stop being so perfect."

"I can't help it, it's just natural." A familiar lopsided grin crossed his face as she rolled her eyes. That was what was different in him in the last two months - his self-confidence was soaring to something she'd never seen before. But it was odd...she only noticed it when they were alone. Around everyone else, even Ron and Hermione, he seemed to be the same frightened little boy that had been lost in King's Cross with nothing but a trunk and Hedwig.

"Why don't you act like this around everyone else?"

He raised an eyebrow in genuine confusion. "Act like what?"

She looked for a way to explain it properly. "You're...confident around me. You don't second guess yourself all the time, and you just seem relaxed and happy."

Harry blinked, still unsure of what she meant, but he ventured an explanation anyway. "You do it to me. I feel that way around you, but no one else. With you...it's like I can't do anything wrong. Every time I think I've done something wrong, you laugh at me or tell me I'm being cute." He shuddered at the idea of being cute.

"Would you rather I didn't?"

"No...I like the way you make me feel. I don't always have to worry about being perfect...I'm just...myself."

"That's how it should be for everyone, Harry." She ran a hand through his thick raven hair as she closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest. "But I'll definitely take it if it's just for me...I love you either way, but this side of you is more fun."

"Oh, really?" He kissed the top of her head. "You think I'm fun enough to get us through a whole afternoon without getting bored?"

She pretended to think on that for a moment. "I think you can...but only because if I _do_ get bored, I can always play with you. You're my boy toy, remember?"

He grumbled at that. "We'll see who plays with who..." He intended it as a passing comment, but Ginny took extreme interest in it.

"Oh? And how exactly would you play with me, Potter?"

He turned slightly pink, looking about frantically for an answer. "I'm sure I could think of something."

She snorted in a very Ginny-like fashion. "Knowing you, you'd take me on a broom ride over the Channel and get us run over by a muggle airplane."

Harry looked as though he was about to take her up on the idea before she gave him a sharp look. He was getting used to that look; she reserved it only for him. It was like _I love you, but don't go there._ He wondered briefly if she remembered about the car he and Ron had flown into the Whomping Willow. She'd had a lot of things on her mind that year.

"So what would Ginny Weasley be doing on a day like this if she didn't have me to play with?"

The woman in question tossed her hair over her shoulder again, half to get it out of her face, half to watch Harry stare like an idiot. She had observed very early in their relationship he couldn't resist watching her whenever she did that, and it served as a way of attracting his gaze whenever she wanted.

"Getting my brothers in trouble for something I did." She put on a devilish smile. "What would Harry Potter be doing if he wasn't staring at his girlfriend?"

Harry quickly averted his eyes while Ginny giggled. "Reading, probably. I reckon Hermione has the right of it."

Ginny looked as though she'd gotten a bad taste in her mouth. "She's already right enough times, you don't need to encourage her." Harry laughed, wrapping an arm around her upper back and settling even farther into the couch. It was a few minutes before either of them spoke again.

"I want a magic show," Ginny said suddenly, looking up. Understandably, Harry had no idea what she was talking about.

"You can do magic; why would you want someone to make a show for you?"

She grinned. "Because I want to see something I've never seen before."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You're expecting me to do magic for you." There was nothing subtle about how Harry felt - Ginny knew he thought she was being childish.

"Just once? I may be eighteen, but I'm still a little girl at heart." The way she fluttered her eyes at him, ran a hand through her own hair...he couldn't resist her, even if he knew she was only doing it to get her way.

He made a show of sighing and feigning reluctance, completing the act with a soft growl. "Fine...stand up."

She gave him a mixed look - half triumph, half nervousness. He sat up on the couch, and pulled his wand out of his back pocket. Despite Moody's remark, Harry still had both buttocks after keeping it there all these years.

"I'm not going to hurt you, so just relax." That caused anything but relaxation in the redhead - Harry wasn't above playing a prank, even on his girlfriend. "_Ignis Copula_."

A fiery rope shot out from the end of his wand, quickly spiraling up one of Ginny's legs and around her torso. She did her best not to move, but an involuntary squeak escaped her lips. Harry grinned, moving his wand slightly and forcing the rope to coil tightly around her neck, which filled her with a warm tickling sensation. She tried not to laugh, because surely it would cause her to move and get burned by the rope, but even though she couldn't hold back, Harry seemed to be able to keep his spell at a safe distance.

"You've got to teach me how to do that," Ginny said in admiration.

Harry merely shrugged, waving his wand once more and putting the rope away. "You should read and practice more...all of these spells are in a book somewhere."

"Is that why Hermione reads all the time?"

He laughed. "I suppose so." Even as he thought about his bookworm-ish friend, a small smile came to his lips. "But I could show you a few things she'd never find in a book."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Harry nodded, letting his eyes fall closed in concentration. A wave of the wand conjured a small tree branch with lavish leaves, but there had been no incantation. _What is he doing...?_

"_Facis per Ardeo Aeternum,_" Harry whispered. Ginny watched as the lights in the room dimmed slightly and Harry's skin took on a soft red glow. The leaves of the branch burst into a brilliant red-orange flame that burned brilliantly, but the wood itself seemed untouched. She gasped softy as she realized what he'd done - he'd created an ever-burning branch unlike anything she'd ever seen. The room's lighting as well as Harry's skin returned to normal as he smiled up at her, offering her the branch.

"Go on...it won't harm you. The fire cannot hurt its source."

She gave him a peculiar look, but took the branch anyway. He was right...her arm brushed up against the fire, but it felt cool and inviting to her skin. "How...what...?" Harry Potter had again made her speechless.

"The flame uses my passion for you as a fuel source...and you know that there's an endless supply of that." He waggled his eyebrows, as if teasing, but the sensitivity was flooding through his loving gaze.

Her eyes got as big as saucers, the chestnut brown dancing with the flames that were reflected in them. "Harry...I...I don't know what to say. This is amazing..." She'd asked for a magic show...but not this.

"Be careful with it...it will not harm you, but to anything else, it is a real fire."

She admired the beauty of the flames for another long moment before turning back to him. "What do you mean? Aren't you going to put it out?"

Harry only smiled. "I can't."

Confusion crossed her already soft features. "What do you mean you can't?"

"Ginny...the only way to put out that flame is for me to stop loving you. As long as I have passion for you, that fire will stay lit."

The gravity of what he'd done was starting to settle in on her. Enchanting something to burn forever was not an easy piece of magic in itself, but if Harry was telling the truth, this was more than an enchantment and couldn't be broken. "I..." She was at a loss for words, but luckily Harry saved her from discomfort with a swift kiss, which she returned as best she could without dropping the branch.

"I want you to keep that somewhere safe, so that if we ever are separated, you can look at it and know that my heart is still with you."

A tear slipped down Ginny's cheek, and immediately a look of concern crossed into her lover's eyes. "No...Harry...don't." She couldn't even think of the proper words to express her own feelings, but these tears were decidedly _not_ tears of sadness. "How...where did you learn to be this wonderful, this totally perfect?"

Honestly, Harry had planned it for a while now. He had originally meant to give the branch to her as a Christmas present along with her other gift, but he'd decided to give it to her early when she asked for a magic show. "Just think of it as an early Christmas present."

That drew a laugh, and Ginny suddenly wished she had a place to put the branch down. She wanted to wrap Harry in a hug and never let go, not until they died of hunger standing together locked in eternal bliss. "I want to always have this...but I don't know where to keep it."

Harry nodded. "We'll find a safer place later, but for now..." He muttered and waved his wand, conjuring a small basin full of water. "Put it in there."

_But it will go out!_ Ginny cried in her own mind, then realized how silly that sounded. If Harry was telling the truth (and she had no reason to doubt him), a bit of water wouldn't make any difference at all. Sure enough, when she laid the branch in the basin, the soft glow still continued underneath the surface, the flames still dancing as if the water itself supported them.

Harry's arms slipped around her, from behind, wrapping her in a loving embrace and planting a kiss the back of her neck. "I love you Ginny."

She couldn't take her eyes off the branch. Nobody had ever done anything like that for her. The idea of any of her other boyfriends doing something like this was laughable, even if they possessed the magical skill. The revelation only served to strengthen her love for the man wrapped around her, and even more than yesterday she knew she couldn't live without him.

"I love you too, Harry. I love you more than you could ever imagine."


	14. Memory

_Author's Note: A good portion of this chapter is memories viewed through the Pensieve, so it might get a little confusing at times, but bear with me. The memories and the observers' reactions are expressed in italics, and I'll try to keep dialogue as clear as possible to prevent confusion as to who is speaking. The only characters from present day in this chapter are Harry and Ginny - everyone else who makes an appearance is just a part of Harry's memory. I hope reading about our two lovebirds doesn't get boring._

_I'm glad everyone liked the branch. I'm not usually the type to give anything away...but its appearance in the last chapter isn't the only one. _:D

_Also, I'm hesitant to post this chapter because of the notice I must attach to it, so if you could, leave me a review to let me know how I did in presenting it._

**NOTICE: **This chapter has some extremely mature themes. By that, I mean that if you aren't comfortable reading about abuse (I alluded to it in Chapter 10), don't read this chapter. I feel that it is an important part of Harry's psychological development, hence my writing of it, but it is definitely not intended for younger audiences.

* * *

**_Chapter Fourteen: Memory_**

All Harry could do now was look at the floor. It seemed impossible to bring his eyes to look around him, or Merlin forbid, at the redheaded girl sitting across from him at the table. A stone bowl sat between them, covered in runes and a silvery substance that flowed softly over its edges. The two of them sat in silence, Harry gathering his thoughts, Ginny letting him come to her when he was ready. He looked up, but only briefly, as if catching her attention then being unable to look at her.

"Ginny...after I show you all of these..." He gestured to the three vials full of silvery threads in front of him,"...I don't want anything to change between us. I don't want you to think of me any different, or treat me any differently. I just want you to know because I think you need to."

She bit her lip in a characteristic display of emotional turmoil. "Harry...you know I can't promise that. I promise that I won't think any less of you, and I won't love you any less, but you can't expect me to forget about what you show me."

He almost called it off right there, but something held him back. What else did he expect from her, if not honesty? He certainly wouldn't have wanted her to lie about her feelings, and could she really forget anything he was about to show her? He certainly never would. That thought alone encouraged him to trust her with everything, to let her in on the part of his past he wouldn't speak of to anyone else.

He picked up a vial and popped the cork, pouring the memory into the stone basin and finally gathering the nerve to look into her compassionate brown eyes. "Just remember that all of this is in the past, and that none of it is happening to me now." She gave him a reassuring smile - even when he was about to literally relive his worst memories, he could still think of her and think of how she might react. It was comforting to know he expected her to react badly (Harry had always underestimated how much people cared about him), but she hoped it wouldn't come to the point where he needed to calm her down. The opposite was supposed to be true – she was supposed to be there for him.

"I'm ready when you are," Ginny's voice said, though she felt far from it. Harry slipped his hand into hers and dipped his nose into the basin, and she felt the unfamiliar feeling of being pulled into a memory. It was nothing like she'd ever imagined...it felt so real, like it could actually be happening around her. It felt exactly like Number Four, Privet Drive had when she'd visited it earlier that day, which wasn't a comforting thought. The only difference in the home seemed to be the age of the pictures on the wall. The unmoving photographs depicted much younger people, though Ginny couldn't hazard a guess at their ages. She jumped in surprise when an arm slipped around her waist, her heart pounding by the time she realized it was nineteen year old Harry, looking decidedly grim.

"Don't worry, you're just observing. Nothing here even knows you exist, and you can't change anything in my memory."

She took a slight comfort in that thought, but she quickly turned back to the scene and backed out of the way of a large blonde toddler running down the stairs, screaming.

_"Mummmmm!" The boy had an exceedingly high pitched voice that rang through the house. Ginny didn't have to look at him long before she realized it was Dudley, though quite a bit younger than when she had last seen him. Even at the age of five, the boy was already starting to take on his father's large frame, and he was already starting to grow that legendary belly of his._

_"What is it Duddykins?" The boy's mother, Petunia with about fifteen years shaved off, came bursting through the door. Dudley ran into his mother's arms, sobbing loudly and drawing attention so effectively that Ginny almost didn't notice the other boy come quietly down the stairs. Only Harry's arm alerted her, turning her toward a five year-old representation of himself. He was absurdly cute at that age, at least to Ginny's loving eyes. She wondered what could be wrong with this memory, but knowing what Harry had told her about his relatives, it could be anything._

_"He...he..." Dudley pointed to Harry with an accusing finger. "He hit me!"_

_Ginny turned a questioning eye at the present day Harry, who shook his head and gestured toward the scene._

_"I didn't, I swear!" The younger Potter protested, but there was nothing the little five-year-old could do to explain the black eye that was forming on the large blonde's face. Unfortunately, the huge form of Vernon Dursley came into the room, looking enraged._

_"What have you done, boy?!"_

_By this time, even young Harry knew what his name was to his uncle. "I didn't do anything, honest! Dudley was going to lock me in the closet, and...and..." His explanation fell off, for what had happened, five year old Harry Potter could not explain. Dudley had been pushing him into a closet amid Harry's protests, but just when the blonde terror had gone to make the final push, he'd screamed out in terror as something invisible hit him in the eye._

_"Accidental Magic..." Ginny breathed, receiving a nod from her Harry._

_"I've put up with you long enough, boy!" Vernon raged at memory Harry, storming over and grabbing the small, raven-haired boy by the collar. Present day Harry pulled his girlfriend back to watch as Petunia removed her son from the room after giving her husband a frightened look. _

_Vernon's hands did not stop there - they grabbed the excess material left from the shirt being Dudley's hand me down and ripped it off, nearly ripping off Harry's arms over his head as he did. Ginny gasped, unable to tear her gaze away from the horrid scene. Five year old Harry gazed up at his uncle, terror in his eyes before the hand came down, a resounding thud-smack issuing at contact. The small boy cried out in pain even as an angry red splotch appeared on the skin of his back where the blow landed. Ginny could feel present day Harry shaking violently in her arms (she was wrapped around him by this point) as the two fell out of the dream and back into Grimmauld Place. She was glad too...because it looked as though Vernon wasn't finished._

"That was the first time he ever..." Harry was shaking like mad and in tears at this point, unable to continue. Ginny rushed around to him, wrapping him in her arms as they both began to cry together.

_How could anyone DO that to a child? _Ginny screamed in her own head, incensed at the injustice while overrun with pain for her rapidly breaking down lover. She immediately understood the panic that leapt to his eyes when she tried to pull off his shirt, the jumpiness he'd had when her mother tried to comfort him in the years before he'd become family, and the pure anger he'd expressed over what happened to Rebecca. She suddenly understood why he'd taken such a protective role in the Ravenclaw's life as of late. She knew she needed to say something, anything to show her support, but she couldn't think of anything that would hold a light to what she'd just witnessed.

"Harry...I love you so much."

She didn't expect him to reply. In fact, she wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't said another word or moved all night. His act of reliving that memory, for her, was unthinkable. And yet he'd done it, which made her feel all that much worse about herself.

"I...I know. That's what is going to make this all right."

Nothing less than astonishment passed through Ginny's mind. Harry had always been able to get through hard times, to tough things out without regard to personal health (either emotional or physical), and it was becoming clear where that ability came from. He had been the epitome of Gryffindor, his honor and courage unmatched both before and during the war. Even after, in the comfort of his own home, Harry was showing courage and strength beyond all expectation. No one should have to put up with abuse like that for six hard years, with no one to love him, no one to comfort him, and he was reliving it for her.

_Bloody Hell..._It his Ginny like a thousand bricks how it must have been, and why Harry had made the comment about wanting to be in his cupboard. He had no one to go to, no one to tell about his problems. She knew from listening in on Harry talking to Ron and Hermione that he never had any friends before Hogwarts (courtesy of one Dudley Dursley), and if his home life was like this, how could he possibly even want to live? She couldn't imagine surviving even a year in his place, let alone eleven, and he'd still gone back there every summer until he was seventeen.

_How did he ever turn out this...wonderful?_ Another realization hit her as tears leaked out of her eyes once again. He'd become the most powerful wizard in the world from these awful beginnings, with nothing to rely on but himself and a name that no magical being would ever forget. More importantly, he had become the man she _loved._ How he had done that would always be a miracle to her, as it was a magic beyond anything any witch or wizard could do with a wand.

"How...how did you ever turn out so perfect?"

He didn't have an answer to that question, but she didn't expect him to. A lot of what Harry Potter did just came natural, like he'd always known the right thing ever since he was born. He didn't dwell on what could be, or what might have been, but he focused on the present. Just like when he'd jumped down into the Chamber of Secrets without a second thought to save her life all those years ago. Just like he'd dueled Lord Voldemort alone in a graveyard filled with Death Eaters and survived. Just like he'd plunged into the Department of Mysteries to save Sirius without a second thought. Just like he'd stormed the Malfoy manor, alone, but with a purpose and complete, unwavering dedication to what was right.

The couple cried together for what must have been an hour, and looked completely horrid by the time they finally were able to pull back and look at each other. Even with everything that happened, all the memories he'd whispered to her in that hour, the consoling words she'd whispered back, and even with the weight of an unimaginable childhood resting on both of their shoulders, Harry managed a weak smile.

"You look like hell."

Ginny choked out a laugh, admiring once again how emotionally strong he was. This was the Harry that history books failed to capture, the Harry that you had to meet in person to appreciate fully.

"So do you."

Harry's smile flickered, as if he was straining to keep it up. Ginny shook her head gently, waving off his mask and wrapping tighter around him. No words could describe their feelings at the moment; neither of them could understand how something so terrible could bring them closer together. It was a feeling that manifested itself in their powerful embrace, though Ginny was starting to get a little uncomfortable at being on top of Harry for so long in a less than comfortable chair. He must have noticed.

"You want to go upstairs?"

_Can he ever stop thinking about other people? _Her eyes flooded with relief as she stood, grasping his hand and helping him to his feet. She pulled on his hand toward the stairs, but Harry held his place to take hold of the pensieve. Horror flashed through her eyes.

"Harry, I can't take another memory like that..." Her voice was pleading, begging him not to show her something like that again. But he didn't intend to...he knew it would only take once for her to get the point. But there were some things he needed to explain, and he wanted to get it all done in one night. Dumbledore had been right...sleeping would only make the horrors worse when you did have to face them – it would be more wise to get it done in one night.

"I know...I wouldn't be able to either. I just want to have it to show you other things, things that are too complicated for me to explain."

She gave him a questioning, even frightened look, but when he didn't elaborate, she nodded and headed toward the stairs. As much as she hated it and couldn't stand how it made her feel, she was glad that Harry showed her that memory. He made a lot more sense to her, not as a wizard, but as a person. She felt closer to him somehow, like he had shown her a bit of him that no one else would see, and that made her feel special. She knew this would stay between the two of them, and though she felt guilty all over again for it, she loved having things that were just theirs.

Harry set the pensieve down on the bedside table, casting a sad look at Ginny before sitting on the edge of the bed and kicking his shoes off. She stepped in front of his tired form, pushing his shoulders back with her hands and crawling on top of him. He turned to lie completely on the bed, and Ginny accommodated him by turning and lying completely on top of him, with only her knees touching the bed on either side of his hips. Her head lay on his torso, her ear recording every heartbeat, her cheek feeling every rise and fall of his chest. His fingers threaded themselves into her hair, sending a warm and protected feeling into her heart, into the special place inside of her that would always be his.

Before she could say anything, he took another vial from his pocket and dumped it into the pensieve, sitting up slightly and tilting the stone bowl toward him as if to take a drink. Ginny felt that same sensation of being pulled out of the present and being dropped into a dream world.

_"Harry, no! We're going with you!"_

_The scene was something Ginny didn't recognize. The outdoor environment was unfamiliar to her, as if it was way out in the middle of nowhere. The building that dominated her vision even seemed strange, because it was entirely too large to be a home, but there was nothing else it could have been. In fact, there were only three things she recognized in her view. Ron, Hermione, and Harry._

_  
They looked not too much younger than they were now, and older than she remembered them being at school. This is during the war, Ginny realized with a jolt. Present day Harry was once again at her side, but with a painful smile on his face. Ginny turned back to the scene, in which Hermione was pleading with Harry while Ron was...tying up prisoners?_

_It hit her in the face where this must be. The Malfoy Manor._

_"Hermione, you can't. I have to do this alone. I'm the only one who can kill him." Younger Harry's voice was deathly calm, a sharp contrast the panicked look on his best friend's face._

_"There are Death Eaters inside! What are you going to do if you get outnumbered?"_

_Harry only shook his head. "Most of them were out here, and a good lot of them are attacking Diagon Alley. You know that."_

_The bushy haired witch bit her lip. He was right, but that didn't mean she had to let him go. "Harry, we're not letting you go. Right Ron?" She turned to find the third part of the trio, who looked up with fierce determination._

_"No, we're not."_

_A grave look passed over young Harry's face. "I don't want to have to, but I'll stun you and keep you here until I return."_

_Both Hermione and Ron gasped and looked at him in horror. "You wouldn't."_

_He shrugged. "I would. And besides, you know I'm not going in there alone."_

_Their anger suddenly had to share time with confusion in their expressions. Hermione's brain was trying to work out what he meant, but Ron went straight to the source. "What do you mean, mate? We're the only ones here."_

_Suddenly, Harry smiled. Not a happy smile, not a smirk, but a confident, righteous smile that spread a feeling of warmth through Ginny's blood even though he was only a memory._

_"Dumbledore always said my greatest strength was my power to love. It's something Tom cannot understand, and he cannot fight it. He does not understand that I will never have to face him alone. I love you, Ron, and you will be with me at the end. I love you like I love Hermione. She'll be there too. Same for Remus. My parents. Sirius. Dumbledore. Your parents. Bill. Charlie. Fred. George. Tonks. Even Moody." He stopped, giving both of them a significant look. "Love binds us together. Dumbledore always said we are only as strong as we are united...and love unites us all."_

_Ginny gave present day Harry an odd look. He hadn't mentioned her at all. His face was still worked into that painful smile, as if the memory was bittersweet. He never looked up as he motioned for her to pay attention as memory Harry finished._

_"But most of all, I have Ginny. I love her more than I have ever loved anyone. She will always be in my heart, no matter what happens inside that place." Hermione was in tears by this point, and Ron looked to be not far from it. "If I don't make it out of this, I want both of you to tell her I'm sorry, and that I loved her with all my heart until the day I died."_

_A sob came from Hermione, and a tear dripped down Ron's cheek. The normally immovable Ronald Weasley was in tears, and suddenly wrapped his adopted brother in a vice-gripped embrace._

_"You're coming back, Harry, or I'm going to find you and force you back to life. You deserve a happy ending more than any of us, and I'll be damned if you don't get it."_

_Harry nodded calmly, matching his friend's intensity in the embrace. Hermione was on top of them, hugging them both and crying her heart out. She wasn't able to speak, but everyone in the memory, Ginny included, knew what she would have said if she had been able to. After a long minute, the Golden Trio broke, exchanged a silent farewell, and Harry marched off to the Manor, sharing a likeness with the Angel of Death._

Harry decided that memories were much more bearable with Ginny wrapped around him. What he wasn't sure about, though, was the speechless expression that she now wore. She looked shell-shocked, as if seeing something for the first time and having a hard time dealing with it, even more so than she had with the first memory. At least she'd been prepared (as much as you could be) for that one.

"Should I not have showed you that?"

"No!" She shook her head vigorously, then looked slightly embarrassed by the force of her outburst. "I...I just don't know what to say. I'm...feeling so many things right now." That was an understatement. She couldn't even think straight because of all the emotions tossing her brain around like a rag doll.

Harry rubbed her back in soothing circles, remaining quiet to let her sort through her feelings. He knew that should have been the last memory he showed her that night - there was only so much emotional stress a human being could take - but there was one more he wanted to show her before they finished. They could spend the rest of the break talking about things if necessary, but he didn't want her to have to go back into his memories ever again.

"Harry...I don't want you to think that I don't feel anything...because I do...but can we not talk about this right now? I can't even figure out what to think, much less what to say." He could see the frantic struggling to come to terms with everything she'd seen - in truth, she hadn't even scratched the surface on dealing with the first before he'd blindsided her with the second. It wasn't surprising that she would want time to gather her thoughts before talking to him about it.

"There's one more memory I want to show you, then we'll be done. We'll have the rest of our lives to deal with everything and make sure we are nothing less than perfect."

His emotional stability was maddening. Ginny knew she was proud and amazed by his ability to deal with turmoil, but it wasn't fair! It only made her feel worse that he took all of this as normal, and that he just shrugged it off and moved on. Didn't he see the injustice of it? Didn't he see that his childhood had been forcefully taken from him?

Of course he didn't; he wouldn't be Harry Potter if he did. He just accepted things and moved on because there wasn't anything else he could do about them. That was how he got through those first eleven years of his life and come out as a polite young boy who only wanted a friend. That was how he dealt with the prophecy and all it entailed; there was simply nothing he could do about it. He just took everything and made the best of it regardless of how it had happened or why. As she cried openly into his shoulder and through Harry's noble attempts to console her, she wondered how much better the world would be if it was full of people like Harry. People with infinite tolerance. People who could be nice and even considerate to those that hate them. People who could come from the worst circumstances and still shape themselves into wonderful human beings.

"Ginny? Are you going to be all right?"

She looked up once again, taking less than a second to lock onto those emerald green eyes. Merlin, she loved those eyes. "I...I will. Let's get this over with...and...I think I'm going to need to sleep."

Harry nodded, pulling a vial out of his back pocket and pouring it into the pensieve. He wrapped a comforting arm around his girlfriend as they fell into the last memory together.

_A high-pitched, blood-curdling scream pierced the silence that had been Grimmauld Place. Ginny looked frantically for its source, but when she found it, she wished she hadn't._

_The setting was a dungeon...no...dungeon was too light of a word. This place was positively filthy, and obviously infested with dark magic. The air was freezing even though the place was obviously indoors, but the stone floor expanded into nothingness and gave the impression of unlimited darkness. A single light illuminated the scene before her, having no discernable source and no doubt magical. The scream pierced the air again, and Ginny reached for present day Harry, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into his chest. She couldn't watch anymore._

_The curled form on the ground was cloaked in black, but obviously in extreme pain. Wildly familiar black hair sprouted from the top of the man's head, and black rimmed glasses lay broken on the floor near him. It could only be one person - it was Harry's memory, after all._

_A high, cold laugh that Ginny had only heard once before echoed through the dungeon as memory Harry's screams subsided. She knew that laugh...she would never forget it. It was the laugh Tom Marvolo Riddle had unleashed shortly before draining her soul into his diary._

_"Have you had enough yet, hero-boy?"_

_Ginny gasped. She had called him the same exact name, not two weeks ago. Her eyes turned to gaze upon her Harry, horror lacing her deeply emotional brown eyes. For the first time, present day Harry spoke in his own memory. "It's all right. I promise." But that's all he would say, as he turned back to the scene, letting his younger self do the talking._

_"You can't kill love, Tom." Harry's voice was weak and cracking, but somehow there was a valiant defiance to it. Ginny was reminded of Dumbledore, from the few times she'd met him. Indeed, comparing Harry Potter to Albus Dumbledore was not as much of a stretch as some may think, something Ginny realized more and more as the memory moved on._

_"Love." He literally spat the word in Harry's face, walking around the curled form with a sneer that would have shamed even the great Severus Snape. "Even the wondrous powers of love cannot save you now, Potter. Not without a mother here to die for you." His voice was dripping with sarcasm as he laughed that same cold laugh, pointing his wand at Harry again. "Crucio."_

_It was torture for pleasure's sake. It was nothing else - Tom simply loved seeing his supposed murderer in pain. Harry was starting to go hoarse by the time the spell lifted again._

_"What was that?" Voldemort jeered at his captive, obviously enjoying himself immensely._

_Harry whimpered on the floor, forcing out something that Ginny couldn't catch. Luckily, or unluckily, Voldemort did._

_"Ginny...that Weasley brat? Surely you wouldn't think a blood traitor like her would protect you from me, do you? Not after she was seduced by my mere memory."_

_At that, Ginny cursed quite loudly, enough that her Harry wrapped around her and shushed her with a finger to the lips. Her anger was not at Tom for voicing the truth, but at herself for being weak in a time Harry needed her. But her despair faded into shock at what memory Harry said in response._

_"Ginny Weasley is..." He grunted with the effort. "...is the woman I love. She..." Harry took another sharp breath, obviously forcing feelings of pain down. "Will be the one to finish you."_

_This, apparently, was too much for Voldemort. His laugh rang through the dungeon, echoing horribly in Ginny's ears even as she stared at memory Harry. How could he say something like that, when he was down on the ground, wishing to die? She knew what it was like to have her soul drained by the Dark Lord, and she gazed in wonder at Harry's strength, and at his love for her. It seemed to have no end, and for the first time she realized the power it gave him. Pure, untwisted power flowed from the bonds of love, the bonds that made life worth living. His love for her kept him sane, kept the Cruciatus from taking his mind. And in the end, Harry was right. Ginny Weasley would be the one to finish the Dark Lord._

_"I shall see, Harry, but you will not. I believe the time has come to finish what I started almost 17 years ago. Avada Kedav-" Voldemort grunted, forcing Ginny to tear her eyes away from memory Harry. A dark shape blasted Voldemort off his feet, knocking him to the ground and sending his wand flying high into the air. The wand that was Harry's wand's brother, by virtue of Fawkes' tail feathers. As the Dark Lord threw off his assailant, Harry reached up toward the wand in desperation._

_"Accio Wand!!"_

_Tom could only watch as his wand flew into the hands of his mortal enemy. Harry's fierce green eyes lit with new light, as if the wand itself had infused him with a second wind. He pointed the instrument at Voldemort's chest, muttering a single word._

_  
"Amavi."_

_Present day Harry wondered if Tom even knew what hit him. A brilliant white-pink light erupted from Harry's captured wand, engulfing the Dark Lord in bright passion. The same passion shone from Harry's eyes as he held the spell on the writhing Tom Riddle mercilessly, holding it to him even as his body started to deteriorate at a rapid pace. The Dark Lord knew not the power of love, and it was love that destroyed him in the end. The final piece of his soul could not take the pure feelings that were now forced upon it, and the soul of Tom Riddle slowly wilted away into nothingness. Only when all traces of the body of Lord Voldemort were gone did Harry allow himself to lift the wand and lay back on the dungeon floor, looking utterly spent._

The couple fell quickly out of the dream, relishing the now familiar feeling of each other's warm body pressed against their own. Ginny tried to make sense of what she had seen, but she'd never heard of that spell, or any incantation resembling it. And who was the dark form, and what happened to him?

"The figure you saw was Peter Pettigrew."

Ginny gasped. She'd heard the story of the betrayal, the story of how Peter gave Harry's parents to the Dark Lord and Harry had subsequently saved his life. She knew that the magical bond Harry had with Peter was strong...but strong enough to override the Dark Lord?

"He died in the attempt. Tom killed him in an effort to get back to me." Harry's voice was hollow, but strangely filled with regret. Ginny didn't even pretend to know what Harry felt toward the fourth Marauder; that situation was more complicated than even her emotional roller-coaster right now. Harry's arms tightened around her, and she knew this was the point he needed her. She obliged, crawling up and nibbling gently on his neck, kissing him softly and lovingly. He made no objection, so she continued her soft kisses, eventually moving to his shoulder after pulling his shirt away, but going no farther. All he needed was her presence, her affection, and her love.

Soon the couple found themselves in a slow kiss that was nothing like they'd ever experienced. If it had been any other time, any other moment, both of them would have said it was boring. But now...the slow movements of the lips, the gentle caresses of the tongue, the light fluttering of the eyes seemed perfect. Ginny's hands slid into his hair, a gesture that was so natural and normal that Harry found comfort in the simple familiarity.

Neither of them said another word that night. They simply shared each other's presence, expressing their thoughts and feelings through light kisses and embraces, falling asleep together early into the next morning.

--------------------

The next morning began much like the last night had ended. Ginny was waiting for him to wake, giving him a soft kiss on his lips and smiling down at his sleepy expression as his eyes fluttered open. "I love you."

Harry smiled, attempting to blink away the sleep but failing miserably. Not that Ginny minded - she thought he looked rather cute upon waking. His hair was even messier than usual, his eyes had a dreamy sort of look that Luna Lovegood would have been proud of, and he was relaxed. That was what Ginny loved best about him in the morning; assuming he didn't have a nightmare (he didn't much anymore, he'd said something about her presence calming him and making them bearable), the few minutes after waking she could feel how peaceful he was.

"I love you more."

She shook her head, nuzzling his nose with hers. "Nuh uh."

"Yes huh."

Ginny laughed, putting her hands on his chest and pushing herself up so she was sitting on his stomach. That was something the old, wartime Harry never would have done. He never would have made a playful argument out of something so casual, and his smile never would have been quite this real.

"So what are we going to do today, he...Harry?" She bit her lip. She had almost called him hero-boy, but the memory flashed through her head before she could complete it. But much to her surprise, Harry poked her stomach playfully and met her gaze with warmth.

"Ginny...if you like it, you can call me that. You can't hurt me just by calling me a name...I know you love me too much."

She slapped his chest, giving him a reproachful look. "Don't get that ego too inflated, Potter. I might just take that back." But again, that part of her that was Harry's lit with a warming fire, and her expression softened even before she finished her sentence. Wait, who was she kidding? All of her was Harry's.

He rolled his eyes. _As if you could._ "So are you going to make me a wonderful breakfast again?"

"No..." She crossed her arms over her chest in a sign of indignance. "I'm not your mother, you can make your own breakfast."

"I could always get _your_ mother to make me breakfast."

Ginny scowled. "Don't you dare. Mum has enough work to do by herself without worrying about you, and you know she'll worry about you first, so don't go any ruin her Christmas." She reached back and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, using a rubber band off her wrist to hold it in place. But Harry's mind wasn't on her hair for the moment.

_Watch it, Potter. Just because she can understand now doesn't mean she wants you to jump her._

"Harry..." She waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Harry, you're staring."

He came out of his trance, giving her an accusing look. "Well, it's not my fault that you wear stuff like that to bed." Actually, she was still in her clothes from the day before, but it didn't matter in Harry's mind. He still had the images of her wearing less in his head.

"Harry, I'm wearing every day clothes. If you want to see something better..."

"No!" He stopped, wondering what he was saying. "Er...I mean...um...not right now."

By this point, Ginny couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck, but Harry could feel her deep breaths that signaled her mirth like a beacon of light through darkness. He couldn't help but smile, though not for the same reason she did. He smiled because she was happy, and that was something that he wanted more than anything else. As long as Ginny was happy, he could take anything else in stride.


	15. Not Once, But Twice

_**A/N: **Yeah. Harry...Ginny...alone in a bedroom after Harry's gotten over himself...you get the picture. This chapter has a lot of sexual content, and it is quite explicit, even though I hate to use that word because that implies sex just for the sake of sex. That isn't it - I wrote a very long scene to show how Harry is finally trusting Ginny with the last thing, and now they can finally begin the rest of their lives together. And...well...Harry's naive nature is quite fun. Sue me. _xP _And...honestly, I think I got a little carried away...but that's for you to decide._

_That said, if you don't like H/G fluff, or you feel uncomfortable reading about the human anatomy at great length, consider yourself warned._

_Gah. Hopefully this will be the last chapter I have to put those stupid warnings up on. I'm pushing the M limits here. But enough of that...enjoy the update! I had fun writing it. This is probably the chapter that's going to wrack my nerves the second most (behind one I have yet to write) so be kind and let me know I didn't completely ruin the story. Please?_

* * *

_**Chapter Fifteen: Not Once, but Twice**_

By the time Harry and Ginny forced themselves apart, it was well into the afternoon. They hurried over to the Burrow after making quick use of the multiple showers in the house, dressing in record time. They'd promised Mrs. Weasley to be over as soon as they got up to help with the decorations for the fast approaching party, which they spent the rest of the afternoon doing. Harry didn't know who was on the guest list, but judging by the amount and size of the decorations, as well as the enlarging charms that had been put on the backyard, the number had to be in the vicinity of a billion. He experienced brief moments of discomfort when one of the Weasleys would ask him to do a simple decoration charm that he'd never had the occasion to learn, though the redheads seemed to take delight in being able to do something he couldn't. He didn't blame them, but he did get slightly irritated when Fred charmed a bit of mistletoe to follow him around yelling "Kiss Me! Kiss Me!", only to be stopped by Ron, who nearly destroyed the offending object after Hermione gave (a very surprised) Harry a chaste kiss on the lips. Harry supposed it could have been worse; Ginny would have been quite a bit more passionate about it.

Not that Ron needed to see them together to have his protective instinct kick in. Just after the couple left to sleep for the night, he sagged down into the couch next to his wife and slid an arm around her.

"My best mate is shagging my sister." He sighed, looking more resigned than disturbed by his statement. He'd seen Ginny find Harry under more mistletoes than could be possible, and Harry hadn't looked too keen on stopping her. She'd also left willingly with Harry - Ginny never left the Burrow with anyone as happy as she had with him.

Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling her head into his chest. "Ron , they're not _shagging_, they're just having a good snog. And you're being very considerate about it." She dragged a finger down the center of his chest suggestively. "And there are rewards for being a good boy, you know." Her finger stopped at the button of his jeans, her eyes turning up to him with a n entirely too suggestive look.

Ron could almost hear the whipping sounds coming from Dean and Seamus, but he was too deep into his marriage with Hermione to care. He would never go back to living without her, to sleeping alone, to wandering around lost without knowing what he was missing. It made him all too happy to be with her, even if it meant she had him wrapped around her finger. Besides - Hermione was ten times better than anything any of his former roommates would ever get.

"Bloody hell Hermione, don't make promises you can't keep." He squirmed uncomfortably, attempting to avoid the inevitable.

"Ron! Language!" But her rebuke was nothing compared to her seductive voice. "And who says I can't keep it?" She climbed on top of his lap and pressed her hips into him. He seemed to have trouble working his jaw properly.

"But...this is my _mother's_ house!" Ron blurted, hoping no one else was in the room to overhear.

"Shhh!" She pressed her hands into his chest and leaned down to kiss him. "This couch is a bit stiff - we just might need to break it in." Indeed, it was a new couch, but Ron couldn't think of anything but Hermione's tongue against his neck, or her hand roaming over his body.

It was just like her to pull something like this, but even after two years of being with her, he was still getting used to her (previously) well hidden sexuality. He, and everyone else, had always seen her as the good girl, perfect, always one to think before doing anything, never the one you'd find snogging in a broom closet, and not to mention bossy, so he'd never expected her rash, fiery, and intensely sexual passion. He'd found a whole new side of her after the war, but one that was still undoubtedly Hermione, right down to her need to be in control of things. Not that he was complaining - she was downright dominating when she wanted something, and it made for some very interesting nights.

--------------------

Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny were having an interesting night, but not of the kind Ron had his mind on. No, Ron would have hated the night Harry and Ginny had and loved. They spent the entire time laying in bed and talking, talking mostly about things that had happened during the war, and about some things that happened before Harry even knew he was a wizard. As the night wore on, Harry became more and more comfortable spilling his soul into the redhead next to him, and she became more and more comfortable in bearing it. They didn't conjure any illusions about that - Harry's past was a burden, but now it was one they both shared, and that made it infinitely easier in both of their eyes. Ginny no longer had to worry about him, or wonder what it was that kept everyone at arm's length from him, and Harry would never feel alone with Ginny at his side. It was a powerful bond they shared, and Ginny's eyes kept returning to her branch and smiling whenever Harry wasn't looking.

The next day was pretty much the same as the one before, though Ginny thought she felt something odd coming from her boyfriend. He never seemed to be far from her, and whenever he thought none of her family members were looking, he found a reason to snog her, or at least wrap an arm around her. It turned out to be a quite enjoyable afternoon, sans a few dirty looks from Ron and a few questioning ones from Hermione.

Harry had insisted that he was tired and returned home early, giving Ginny a little time to spend with her family alone. As much as they loved Harry, the Weasleys had a hard time getting the pair separated and getting time with them by themselves. Bill, who happened to be off work that day, found his little sister practicing a hover charm over a table, as if serving dishes.

"Don't drop it," he whispered in her ear, causing her to jump and drop the plate anyway.

"Bill!" She sighed and repaired the plate, turning to face her oldest brother. "Be nice."

He laughed, leaning against the table and putting his hands in his pockets. He looked very much older than she'd last seen him, but he still had the long hair and the fanged earring. His scarring from Fenrir Greyback was visible as always, but it didn't distract attention from him unless he was talking to a stranger.

"Or what, you'll have The Chosen One come after me?" He sniggered as Ginny glared.

"He hates that, and so do I. He's Harry, not some hero that the _Prophet _wants to make galleons off of." Her voice was sharp, but not cold. She handled most of her brothers like this when they irritated her.

"Whoa, sorry little sis. Didn't know that was such a soft spot. So you two are pretty serious now?"

Her irritation softened at the mention of their relationship, as it was going quite well at the moment. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes."

Bill's brow furrowed. "Since when is it not? I care about what happens to you too, you know."

Ginny looked away from him for the first time, sighing. "Yeah, but I care about what happens to him. I have to protect him from all of you brothers...he's scared about what you all think, whether he says anything or not." She was on the verge of telling him about Harry and Ron's little fight, but she thought better of it. It wouldn't do for word of that to get back to their mother.

"Why? He knows he might as well be one of us for all Mum cares, and we've always looked out for him." _Especially during the war,_ Bill didn't say. He was a little stung that Harry might think they'd hurt him for being with Ginny when it obviously made her the happiest girl in the world.

"He knows what Ron does when I'm with another boy - he had to live with it while we were at Hogwarts. He just doesn't want anything to be weird between him and our family. I don't blame him either."

"Ginny, he's a part of this family, whether he wants to be or not. I think if Mum could she'd put him on the bloody clock. He can't just separate himself and think everything is okay."

She nodded in agreement. "He knows that, and I know it, but he still would rather have the problem be with him than with me. He doesn't want to make me take sides between our family and him."

Confusion was invading Bill's thoughts the longer the conversation continued. "Why would he think that? We all were angry with him for leaving us like that, but I thought we did a pretty good job of understanding."

Ginny shook her head, turning to leave the room. "Not good enough." She tried to leave, but Bill flicked his wand and locked the door in front of her.

"What do you mean?"

She only shook her head. "If you must know, talk to Ron." She used her own wand to break Bill's lock and exit, leaving the house entirely and apparating at Grimmauld Place.

--------------------

What she found there was not at all what she expected. She had expected to find the house quite quiet, Harry in bed or showering before bed, and most of magical lights waved out. She was right on all three counts, but when she entered the bedroom to find her lover, he was waiting for her in bed, the room quite bright, and his wand writing the words _I love you Ginny Weasley_ in the air. She had to smile; it was nice to come home to that, especially after the argument she'd just left with Bill. But why did he do this? He'd never done anything like it before, not even when he needed to apologize for something major. In fact, it couldn't be that - he had one of those goofy smiles on his face, and though she could see the slight nervousness in his tense features, it seemed like a good nervousness.

"Have you been waiting since you got home?" Her smile worked its way into her voice as she sat on the edge of the bed beside his hip, turning her head to look at his smiling face.

"No...I took a shower first, but you took ages so I decided to wait here."

There was something in his voice, something teasing, something that sounded too much like the daredevil tones of Fred and George. Something decidedly not Harry. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She'd seen this in flashes since Halloween, but never this forward, never this confident, and never for very long. It wasn't just his voice, either. It was his whole demeanor. _He's up to something,_ Ginny realized. She just couldn't figure out what.

When she didn't respond, Harry looked past his work and into her confused expression. "Ginny, go take a shower. It's been a long day, and you look like you'd feel better."

_What?_ _Since when has he told me what to do?_ Not that she minded - she'd do anything for him - but he usually preferred to have her be the commanding one, and all he had to do was listen and be the lovable boyfriend he was. _He's up to something big._

"Fine...but when I get out, you better tell me what you're up to." A shower did sound nice, but..."And if you get me dirty again with some stupid prank, I'll kill you."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You might like getting dirty."

Ginny stared, but he refused to say anymore. Instead, he rolled over and put his face in the pillow (undoubtedly to hide a smile) and pointed blindly in the direction of the bathroom. A quirk of a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth as she decided she might like this mysterious Harry. Not all the time...but every once in a while it was nice to have something a little different. She obeyed his command, taking a long and luxurious shower. If he was waiting on her for something, he could good and well wait a little longer.

--------------------

She came out in her bathrobe to find Harry appearing to be asleep. She double-checked he wasn't looking before she slipped out of the bathrobe and into some comfortable pajamas (cotton short-shorts and a loose T-shirt) before turning and finding him looking straight at her.

"Harry! I..I thought you were asleep!"

He sniggered, shaking his head. "Nope...but nice view. Inspiring, really."

She glared at him, once again wondering what he was up to. She'd never really had to worry about him doing such things; he'd always been the one to be decent, to give her every opportunity to privacy and keeping himself like an honest gentleman.

"Okay. What are you up to?" She put her hands on her hips, and Harry thought she did a remarkable impression of her mother.

"What? I can't just enjoy a nice view when I see one? I mean, I know I'm famous and all, but I like a beautiful girl just as much as the next bloke."

She blushed and tried to force back a smile. "Oh, really? I thought all this time you swung the other way and I was just a cover-up."

Harry scowled, drawing a laugh from her. "Just because you're the only girl in my life doesn't mean I'm not straight."

Again, she was warmed by his backhanded and quite surprising romanticism. He wasn't a classic romantic with roses and candles, but he had his own way of showing his love, and that was just fine, and even wonderful to her.

She crawled up the bed next to him, turning him over on his back and straddling his hips. "Care to prove it to me?"

Harry's attitude wavered just slightly, then fell back into place. "Sure."

Ginny's jaw dropped open in a very comical look of shock. Harry burst out laughing at her face, which earned him an even more shocked look. She'd been making off-handed remarks like that for months, and he'd always turned her down nicely, and had done it to the point she didn't even think about anything but getting a no.

"Umm..." She wasn't quite sure what to say. _So that's what he was up to...that little..._"You bloody git. You've been planning this all day."

Harry grinned, blinking and stretching his arms behind his head for show. He loved shocking her (which wasn't an easy thing to do), and especially with something good (something even less easy to do). He basked in his glory for a full five seconds before answering her.

"That's about right...I think the thought occurred to me over breakfast."

She slapped his stomach, growling at him and wondering why he didn't tell her earlier. She could have tortured him all day...

Except that he'd done that to her. She couldn't pretend that she hadn't been aroused by his affectionate side, the one that had been all over her that day; she'd just not said anything because she didn't want him to feel guilty.

"You teased me all day, you brat."

He nodded. "Guilty, once again. Now are you going to snog me or am I going to have to come up there and take it from you?"

She considered this for a second, but before she could decide she found herself leaning down and sliding her tongue into his mouth almost immedately. Of course she was going to snog him - she couldn't let him have control. She liked being in control of things, and it only made her want to ravish him right there for surprising her. They kissed passionately for a while before Ginny moved down to Harry's neck, their slightly rough play going to a whole new level as she bit down on him hard, causing a slight gasp of pain mixed with his pleasure.

"That's what you get for holding out on me, lover-boy."

Harry didn't respond - he didn't want her to stop. She was already rubbing her hips into his as she sucked on his neck, and it could only get better from there. After another few minutes of neck ravaging and passionate snogging, Ginny pulled up a little and slid her hands under the bottom of his shirt, looking straight into his eyes for permission. At once, the excited, overwhelmed teenage boy was gone, and he was replaced by a scared little boy that she'd seen only once before, and hoped she never would again.

"Harry...I don't want you to feel like you have to do this. I..."

"Ginny...don't. I need you to push me. I want to do this, I'm ready for it. I just need you to help me get there."

She nodded, not sure what to say. Her eyes drifted up to his scar, and for the first time in her life, she stopped to look at it like most wizards did upon meeting him. Harry noticed her gaze, but didn't say anything as she pulled her hands away from his shirt and crawled farther up him. It was kind of hard to be annoyed by her scar-gazing when her (rather perfect, in Harry's eyes) breasts were just below his chin.

"May I?"

Harry hadn't the faintest clue what she was talking about (the aforementioned breasts were the only thing on his mind) but he nodded anyway. Ginny could do whatever she wanted to him.

But he never expected the soft kiss right on his scar. Logically, it was the last place anyone would want to touch him, let alone kiss him, but she did it anyway, and she did it again when he didn't move. She held it longer this time, long enough to take a breath through her nose before sliding back down to meet Harry's eyes.

"Harry...I love all of you, and you know I would never hurt you."

Deep down, he'd always known that, but somehow her kiss on his scar represented her love in a way he could wrap his mind around. If she could kiss the most horrible part of his body, his connection to the Dark Lord, then everything else would seem like nothing. He met her gaze with a slight nod.

"I know, Ginny. I love you too, and that's why I trust you. But I'll start wondering if it's really you if you don't get on with it."

She laughed, suddenly at ease with her own sexual desire. He had a way of putting it that made it seem completely normal, and that she shouldn't be ashamed of it. Her hands slipped under his shirt again, her wrists pulling it up as her hands slid up his chest. He raised his arms and let her pull it completely off, tossing it on the floor next to the bed and taking her first look at his bare torso.

_Merlin...I love it._ He was pale white (he'd probably never been out in the sun with a shirt off, ever), and his tallish frame was not any thicker than his Dudley hand-me-downs suggested. She could see his chest rise and fall with his breath, and she could see the tightly powerful muscles of his abdomen move ever so slightly with each inhale and exhale. He didn't have abs like she might have expected, but his wiry build showed in soft ripples across his skin whenever a muscle moved. His hand reached over to feel his bare chest, to make sure he really let her do it, but Ginny's attention was on his bicep as he moved.

_Bloody Hell...When did he get this strong?_ She'd almost wondered about his rather attractive (in her mind) body, but he'd always had that. It was the hidden power that she couldn't see with his shirt on, the inner strength that surprised her. It was strangely parallel to his emotional strength; at first, he seemed like a lonely, fragile little boy, but like his mother, he'd found the strength to stand up to the darkest wizard of their century and kill him on his own terms.

Harry looked up at her and smiled, his hand coming to squeeze hers gently. "Take all the time you want, Ginny. I want you to remember this forever, and I want you to know I'm giving myself to you."

She blinked, then smiled back at him. "Thank you Harry...I know how hard this is for you, and I promise I'll make it worth it."

Harry laughed softly, and Ginny relished the way his muscles moved under the calm exterior as the music of his voice floated over her ears. "You better...you've been trying for ages to get this far."

She almost smacked his stomach, but stopped before her hand even moved. That wasn't such a good idea...so instead she leaned down and traced her finger across his chest, finding his ribcage and tracing the individual ribs as she began committing his body to memory. The next fifteen minutes were spent with Harry laid back and Ginny exploring his upper body, with the occasional noise from Harry whenever she hit a soft spot. Those spots stuck out in Ginny's mind - she'd definitely remember them from now on.

At last she moved up to kiss him again, her hands resting palm down on either side of his chest. She pulled back a little, observing his reaction to the weight on his chest. He didn't seem to mind...in fact, he was looking up at her with interest, as if he wasn't even thinking about it. She took this as her cue to pull her own shirt off in one swift motion, exposing her entire upper body to him. Harry'd almost forgotten - she never slept with a bra.

Ginny smiled at the stare that followed, though she only accepted it because it was from her Harry. Any other man would have earned a good, hard slap in the face, but Harry received a blush and a shy smile.

"I...they...I love them."

She giggled at his embarrassment, reaching down for his hand and placing it softly on her chest. "Harry...you don't need to be shy. This is part of the girl you love, remember?"

Harry's hand nearly recoiled, but Ginny was far past taking it as an insult. Sometimes he was so innocent she had to bite her lip to keep from bursting out laughing, and this was one of those times. "I should have gotten around to this earlier..." He was in a bit of a daze, barely noticing as Ginny began to move his hand against her, using his hand to rub her own breast softly.

Eventually, Harry got comfortable with the idea of his hand on places he'd only dreamed of, and Ginny was quite obviously enjoying it. He was by no means perfect (she'd winced a little when he'd gotten a little vigorous with his caresses), but she loved his slender fingers just the same, especially when they followed her gentle commands.

Her eyes locked on his once again, her hands sliding down his sides and under the waistband of his pajamas, careful to not catch his boxers on the way. Harry blinked, gathering some emotional strength, and then nodded. She slid his bottoms off, laying them on the floor by the foot of the bed before crawling up between his feet and sitting on her knees. Her eyes took in every inch of his legs, her hands sliding over them to reaffirm her vision and slowly injecting confidence into Harry's system. The longer she simply looked at him, touched him, and caressed him, the more comfortable he became, and it seemed natural for her to move up to his thigh, and specifically his inner thigh.

But it was too much for Ginny when his boxers started to move and she realized what was happening. She giggled softly, and immediately Harry flushed red. "Sorry...I...I can't control it."

Merlin knows what made her do it, but Ginny put a hand right over his growing crotch and pressed gently, looking up at him. He squirmed quite heavily, but she didn't remove her hand. "Harry, I'd probably start to feel insulted if you could take all of this and _not_ get...excited." She pressed her hand into him until he stopped squirming, but he still looked extremely embarrassed. Ginny was doing all she could not to pay attention to the thing under her hand and concentrate on him. Eventually, she had to pull her hand back.

"I'm going to be looking at it quite a bit in a few minutes, Harry. You might want to get used to it." She grinned mischievously, causing a look of horror to appear on his face, but it wasn't the terror she'd seen when she'd taken his shirt off. It was more playful, and more relaxed...though he still seemed rather squeamish at having someone stare at his manhood.

At seeing his look, Ginny slid off of him, stood at the foot of the bed, and slipped out of the rest of her clothes, leaving herself standing quite bare in front of him. Harry's jaw ceased to operate other than to move his mouth from open to closed several times in rapid succession. Ginny sniggered at him in spite of her appearance, for once feeling completely comfortable with her shocking paleness; she could always point at him. And there was something about him that made her comfortable, even happy to be completely naked in front of him.

"Harry...get used to this. You'll be seeing it a lot, hopefully." She couldn't help but slip in a hint there.

He finally seemed to find something to say, even if it was only one word. "Brilliant."

She laughed and climbed back on top of him, her eyes fluttering at the nearly complete skin to skin contact, her lips brushing against his before she kissed him and wrapped her arms around him. Harry was acutely aware of her chest rubbing against his, and her legs wrapping around one of his own as her tongue slid into his mouth. Just when he thought he would pass out from sensory overload, she slid back down his body and paused at his waist, her hands resting on the waistband of his boxers. This was the last piece, the last thing keeping them apart, the last barrier that Harry had to get over.

"I love you, Ginny."

She smiled at the silent question, and nodded. "I love you too, Harry." She slid the boxers off slowly, nearly giggling again as he sprung out at her, nearly hitting her in the face. She'd have to remember not to lean so close to him when she did that.

Using all of her willpower, she forced herself not to look at it as she tossed the boxers onto the floor, only allowing herself a look after straddling his leg and sitting back on it. Unfortunately, this look lasted about half a second before Harry's leg wiggled under her, causing a slight gasp to escape her and her eyes to fix to his.

"Ginny?" He looked from his leg back up to her face. "You're wet."

Not even a hard bite to the lip could stop a laugh this time. He was so...innocent...and yet, so bloody perfect. "Harry, that's what happens when...er..." Now she understood his embarrassment as her ears turned pink. "When a girl gets turned on."

A silent "oh..." formed at Harry's mouth, but he didn't say anything for fear of sounding even more stupid. What he hadn't missed, though, was the gasp of pleasure when he'd moved his leg. He repeated the motion, a small smile coming to his lips as he could see the shiver run through her body.

"Harry!"

"Like that, do you?" The ability to make her shiver gave him a new sense of empowerment, and he loved it.

"Yes, now stop it. Trust me, I can do more to that..." her hand reached down and grazed his crotch, "...than you can with your leg."

That shut him up, even as he remembered that he was exposed to her. Suddenly, an unbidden and entirely unwelcome thought came to his mind, and he had to express it.

"I...I..." But his need didn't stop him from flushing red. "I'm sorry if it's too small."

Ginny stared at him in open-mouthed shock. She had never though she'd _ever_ hear another man say that, especially Harry. She looked down and wondered why he would have said such a thing - it certainly looked fine to her, even if her opinions on size didn't necessarily match with the other girls she'd talked to about the subject. In fact, any bigger and she would have been afraid of it. Not to mention his brutal honesty was shocking in itself.

"Where did you ever get that idea...?"

Harry debated rather guiltily about whether to tell her, but in the end his burning need to always tell her everything won out. "Some of the guys were comparing...sizes...in the dorms, and well..." He didn't finish the sentence, but he didn't need to. Ginny giggled again, reaching down and petting him gently.

"Harry...even if that were true, which I don't think they were telling the truth, but if it was, how do you think I'd handle anything bigger?"

She had a point - Ginny had always been a small girl - fiery - but still small in stature. That, combined with her fingers against him took his mind off the subject and focused on her. Or more specifically, her eyes, which were staring down at him, much like he'd stared at her chest not so long ago. Her hand wrapped around him as if testing something, and then slid up and down once, her eyes flicking up to watch his face.

She was not disappointed. The look of pure pleasure that crossed him was both amusing and very satisfying, so much so that she did it again, this time rubbing herself against his leg. They both whimpered softly together, their eyes meeting and exchanging a silent word.

It was all downhill from there. Ginny wound up moving over to straddle him, by which time he was already in his own little world. Something about being on top, being in control worked for Ginny Weasley, and she had no problems satisfying herself not once, but twice on top of him. It was quite amazing, really, how fast he'd rebounded, but she wasn't complaining. By the time the couple fell asleep (wrapped in and around each other, still cloth-less), both where completely exhausted but feeling better than they ever had in their entire lives, including their first kiss. This was somehow so much better.

--------------------

Harry was stirred awake by an extremely strange sensation the next morning. It felt like something was moving inside of his mouth, and that something had been placed over his lips to keep him from breathing. He almost jumped back, but he realized it was only Ginny, and they were only snogging each other senseless. Well, it was more Ginny's work than anything, but Harry must have been more awake than he realized because his hands were already running up and down her back as she rolled on top of him and pulled back, smiling. She looked amazing with that sleepy look in her eyes, her hair everywhere, and that pure smile on her lips.

"I love you."

Harry smiled, blinking away the sleep from his eyes. This was their favorite way to say good morning. "I love you more..."

Ginny shook her head, grinning. "Nope. You were the one who had to stop last night, not me. So I love you more." Then, at the look of horror on his face, she added, "Not that I'm complaining. I think I would be dead right now if we hadn't stopped."

This seemed to ease his nerves somewhat, but he still had to ask. "So you liked it?"

She looked down at him, wondering how that could even be a question. "Harry, you're going to be lucky if you get out of this bed before I shag you again."

He smiled at that, the memories flooding back into his mind. He'd have to ask Ginny about storing it in the pensieve - he never wanted to forget a bit of that night. "I guess I have to believe you...you were loud enough to keep the entire of London awake."

She turned furiously red, hiding her face in her hands and looking away. She'd known she was quite loud (she'd never had another man, but that didn't say anything about herself), but Harry and the things he did to her had taken it to a completely new level. It was a wonder she still had a voice this morning.

"If you ever tell anyone about that, I will kill you with my bare hands."

Harry was shaking with laughter at this point, but he had enough sense to shake his head. "I won't talk to anyone about...this. This is something special between you and me, and I don't want to ruin that."

A pang of guilt sliced through Ginny, because she knew Hermione would be all over her about it once she found out. But she was Harry's best friend, right? Wouldn't Harry tell her at least something about last night? She supposed not - men weren't like that.

"But I do think you would make a good replacement for Moaning Myrtle..." Harry sniggered, and this time she did slap his bare stomach. He winced and tried to curl up into a ball, but her straddling of his hips prevented that.

"Oh, Harry! I'm so sorry!" She leaned down to hug him, but he pushed her shoulders away.

"Ginny, don't. Don't treat me like I'm a piece of glass. I'll get over it, and I would much rather have you expect me to be strong than weak." He shivered and flattened himself against the bed, obviously fighting his inner impulses.

So that's why he was so determined. He thought he was weak because he didn't want to confront his past, and he thought she looked down on him because of it.

"Harry, I'll try, but you know how I am. I'm a bit like my mother when it comes to you."

He smiled and nodded, wondering what it would be like to have a warm, loving woman around the house forever. He supposed it would be rather nice. "Well, if you're anything like your Mum, I bet your Dad has some really interesting stories to tell..." He burst out laughing again, to an indignant snort from Ginny.

"Fine, be that way." She smacked him again, but he didn't recoil. A deep part of her was proud of him, but she was too worried about his teasing to notice.

"All right, I'll stop teasing you...for now." He smiled up at her, reaching up and brushing her hair out of her face with a hand. She pushed her cheek into his palm, inviting him to stroke her gently and affectionately. Her irritation floated away, her eyes meeting his and dancing at the love she found in those emerald orbs. _I'm never going to stay mad at him..._

_Smack!_

Their peaceful and rather relaxing morning was interrupted by none other than Pig, who flew in an open window and sailed headfirst into the opposite wall. Hedwig gave a hoot of indignance, but the smaller owl pulled himself up valiantly and hopped over to shove a letter in Harry's face.

_Oh...no..._

It had the Ministry's seal on it, and from the looks of it, it was a top secret document. He wondered why the Ministry would have trusted it to Pig, but Hermione's handwriting was added neatly under the seal.

_Harry - this is from the Ministry. None of their owls seemed to be able to find you, so I had to send it to you through Pig. I do hope you get it._

He was going to have to read it, if Hermione thought this was important enough to owl to him instead of waiting until he came to the Burrow. Ginny laid back on the bed and curled around his side, one of her legs under him and one curled around his thigh as she laid her head on his chest possessively. Harry ran a hand through her soft hair before untying the parchment from Pig's leg and unrolling it for the both of them (and Hedwig) to read.


	16. Christmas At Last

_Author's Note: Sorry my updates are so far apart...I've been writing the end and neglecting to write what I need to update. But anyway, here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. The story is going to go downhill from here to a very satisfying conclusion, complete with an epilogue, which I have already written._

_100 reviews...wow. I'm honored. Thanks to all of your who review, and double thanks to my consistant readers. This chapter is for you guys.

* * *

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_**Chapter Sixteen: Christmas At Last**_

_Mr. Potter,_

_I have written to you before on this matter, but you failed to correspond in kind, so I am forced to owl you again. As the current Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I am under obligation to inform you of an imminent attack on the wizarding village of Hogsmeade by the remnants of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers. Reliable sources planted in the ranks of the Death Eaters have related knowledge of the attack, which is scheduled sometime in the next month. The purpose of this attack is unknown, but it must be guarded against no matter the cause._

_I implore you again, Mr. Potter, to consider the lives of every witch, wizard, and child currently residing in Hogsmeade. Innocent lives could be lost while you stand on the sidelines, and I sincerely doubt either of us would take pleasure in dealing with the implications of that. So please, Mr. Potter, do write back and inform the Ministry of your plans to combat the evil that threatens us all._

_Sincerely,  
__Rufus Scrimgeour  
__Minister of Magic_

If anything or anyone could ruin his morning, leave it to the Minister of Magic. Had the letter been anything else, he would have just ignored it and tossed the letter onto the small pile of clothes that was beside their bed, but a Death Eater attack on Hogsmeade could not be taken lightly. Ginny must have felt his change in attitude, because she looked up with a concerned expression.

"What is it Harry?"

He wondered what to tell her. The truth, no doubt, but he wasn't sure he was ready to talk about what it all meant, and what he was going to do about it. Certainly he couldn't do anything at that precise moment, but he was Harry Potter, and he was supposed to have a plan and the magical ability to fix everything.

Instead of trying to explain, he handed her the letter and paid no mind to the level of security attached to the parchment. There were heavy procedures aligned with that seal - namely, he was supposed to burn it after reading, and it would have burned itself if anyone but him opened it - but in this case, Harry decided Ginny was above the rules.

"Does...does this mean you have to go back to the castle?" She looked utterly depressed at the thought, causing Harry to frown. He hated seeing her depressed, especially after the night and morning they'd been enjoying so much.

"No. I'm not going to do anything until the end of the break. This Christmas is about family, not Death Eaters." His resolve was evident, but he was more trying to prove it to himself than Ginny. He'd never had a holiday with his (yes, he admitted it now) family without the clouds of darkness hanging over him, and he'd be damned if Death Eaters ruined this one too.

Ginny smiled and laid her head against his chest, blinking as she turned over the thoughts in her head. "You need to do something though, Harry. You can't just leave all of those people undefended - you're the most powerful wizard in the world. You can help them."

That was the problem of it. He _could_ help them, and he would have to if he wanted to live guilt free. He hated the Ministry for involving him in this, for telling him something he would have been happier not knowing. He just wanted to calm down, spend some time with Ginny, maybe teach a little, and spend the rest of his days enjoying everything the world had to offer. Apparently the wizarding world thought differently though, because they seemed to be able to give him anything but that.

"I...I know. I just don't want to fight again. Haven't I already done enough?"

She sighed and bit her lip. It wasn't a question she wanted to answer. He had done more than any battalion of Aurors for the wizarding world, and yet they still needed him. He was the best, and that came with its own price. He was the one people turned to in times of uncertainty or darkness, he was the one that was supposed to lead them to victory, whether he wanted to or not, whether he was able or not. It was the same way many had looked at Albus Dumbledore, but at least the old man had at least wanted the job. Harry was different - he just wanted to be normal, and it tore at Ginny's heart to not be able to give him that.

"Harry...one day you're going to be able to settle down, but until that day, yes, the wizarding world needs you." It was hard for her to be this mature and tell him what she wanted to ignore, even as she knew she couldn't have done it 6 months ago. Her mother was right; Harry had a calming effect on her, and it allowed her to think more deeply than the constantly brimming with energy and excitement Ginny everyone knew.

"When is that day? Ten years? Twenty? A hundred?" He knew full well he'd live well into two centuries, if Dumbledore was any reference.

"Honestly Harry, probably when we get married and have children. If there's one thing everyone understands, it's the need to spend time with their children."

He gave her a funny look. "Since when did you get so bright? And let's have children as soon as possible."

Ginny flushed at the compliment. "I'm growing up." She squeezed him gently and smiled. "Madam Pomfrey says I have to be like this to be a good Healer. My job is as much emotional as it is physical. Or will be." The students at Hogwarts rarely came in with emotional trauma, but St. Mungo's or any other healing institution was bound to be full of patients that had been through horrific situations and Ginny would need to be able to reason with them in a way not unlike she did with Harry at times. "And no, we're not having kids yet. I want to at least be working by that time."

Harry slipped out from under her, sitting on the edge of the mattress for a moment before standing. He'd noticed he was sleeping better since Ginny had invaded his bed, though he couldn't figure out why. Maybe that was why there was a whole section of the Department of Mysteries that worked with the unknown magic of love. He guessed that love was something no one was ever going to understand completely, but all of the brainiacs like Hermione had to try.

The letter lay forgotten on the nightstand by the bed, though it never completely left Ginny's mind. Harry was used to ignoring Ministry letters and summons and such, but she'd never had reason to learn, and her father's job working with the Ministry conditioned her to have a respect for it even if she didn't agree with some of the decisions. The couple took their time in getting ready, including a brief pause when Ginny rose and Harry couldn't help but stare. She laughed and struck a pose for him, causing him to flush and turn away, embarrassed. Ginny sniggered and headed off to the bathroom while he (gasp) made the bed. Ron would have been disgusted if he knew how well his sister had his best friend wrapped around her finger.

--------------------

Even during the day, the Burrow was the embodiment of the holiday spirit. Fred and George were noticeably absent - they had a shop to run - but their experimental and cheerful charms were everywhere. Bill and Fleur were suspiciously working less during the holidays; maybe that was one of their perks of working at Gringotts, but Harry highly doubted it. Goblins just didn't seem to be the type to embrace vacation in any form. Charlie was also absent, but he would be arriving the day before Christmas to celebrate, and then leaving soon after the party. Dragons, like Gringotts, didn't change their behavior during the holiday season to allow long, leisurely vacations.

Harry and Ginny apparated at the Burrow together - Harry was beginning to think Fleur had the right of it in her "inability" to apparate. Ginny stood on her toes to kiss his cheek before they pulled apart and walked to the house hand-in-hand, an unavoidable warm smile on her face. Hermione met them at the door, throwing a curious look at Ginny before greeting Harry with a hug.

"What's wrong with her?" The older witch tilted her head towards Ginny.

Harry shrugged, though he knew the reason for her smile. She'd had it all morning. He could only pray Hermione wouldn't push too hard. "Wasn't my day to watch her."

Hermione gave him a disbelieving look, but Ginny was about ready to burst. "Harry gave me an early Christmas present!"

That caused two glares - one from Harry to Ginny, and one from Hermione to Harry. Hermione found her voice first. "You gave her a present early?! Harry, we agreed not do do that!"

He squirmed under her gaze, much to Ginny's delight. The redhead threw him a wicked grin and wrapped herself around his arm, turning her eyes toward Hermione as Harry responded.

"You try living with a girl who has been asking for months. It wasn't my fault."

Hermione looked from Harry to Ginny with a horrified expression. Ginny turned furiously red and dug her nails into Harry's arm, who was just realizing he'd said something he shouldn't have. Ginny had been talking about the ever-lasting fire...not the seemingly ever-lasting night they'd had. Finally, an amused look flashed in Hermione's eyes, causing Ginny to pull away from Harry's arm.

"Harry, why don't you go get my present so I can show everyone?" From the tone of her voice and her pulling away, he knew it wasn't a request. He nodded, turning and walking away from the Burrow to the edge of the apparition wards.

"Is that why you two went home early?" By now, Hermione's smile was warping into a sly grin. She knew she'd caught on to something. Ginny was just glad the front door was shut behind her - otherwise Mrs. Weasley was likely to overhear the conversation.

"No!" Ginny's ears were scarlet, and threatening to go a light purple. Hermione gave her a significant look, one of complete disbelief. "Well...I didn't. Harry, that git, had everything planned." She seemed a bit sour at the thought, as though she'd been tricked.

Hermione wasn't one to giggle, but even she had a hard time holding back just now. "How was it?"

Ginny did her best to look affronted at the question, but there was nothing hiding the soft glow around her as the night before ran through her head again. "That's between Harry and I, thank you."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You know you're going to tell me eventually. You've been waiting for this forever."

Ginny sighed. Hermione was right - she could barely hold it all in. She wanted _someone_ to know how utterly amazing it had been, and Hermione had always been the girl she was closest to.

"It was amazing. I mean...a little awkward, but that'll get better with practice." A dreamy look floated into her eyes, as if realizing she was going to get to do it again. "I never imagined it would be so wonderful."

Hermione bit her lip, seeming like she was unwilling to respond. Ginny gave her a curious expression until she heard a very familiar male voice from behind her.

"What was wonderful?" Harry asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I thought you were going to get my present?"

"Don't worry, I've got it." Harry smiled and kissed the top of her head. Hermione rolled her eyes in mock irritation, but not before working in one last teasing smile at Ginny.

"Come on you two, let's get inside. Harry, I think Bill wanted to talk to you."

Both Harry and Ginny blinked, confused, but they followed their best frined inside to be hugged and kissed by the great Molly Weasley. Harry smiled as he realized some things would never change.

--------------------

Hermione had, in fact, been right in say Bill wanted to talk to Harry, but it was quite a while before the two got a moment alone. The fact it had to be a private conversation put Harry on his guard - it had to be something about Ginny since nothing else would require this level of secrecy. The letter from the Ministry flashed through his mind at one point, but Bill probably didn't know about that. Harry was finally caught by the eldest Weasley brother in Percy's old room while making it suitable for guests. None of the Weasleys had seemed to want to do it, so Harry had volunteered.

Bill entered the room quietly and shut the door, the first sign that something was up. Harry looked up from the drawer he was cleaning and fixed the ex-curse breaker with an expectant gaze.

"How's the sanitation coming?"

Harry shrugged. He'd been trying to remove all traces of Percy from the room in hopes that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could be able to enter it without serious emotional stress, but it was harder than he'd thought. Magical beings seemed to leave a mark of themselves on their residences, whether intentional or not, and there were some things that even magic couldn't erase. "Good, I guess."

Bill took two steps and sat on the bed, looking around the room. As much as Harry was a part of the Weasley clan, he would never have memories of growing up at the Burrow and having a childhood full of brothers. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had lost a son to the war, but no one seemed to realize the Weasley children had lost a brother, acknowledged or not.

"You love her, don't you?"

Harry saw no use in feigning ignorance. Although Bill wasn't looking at him, his meaning and reason for talking to him were clear.

"Yes."

A long pause followed that revelation. In Harry's eyes, Bill had always been the most mature of the Weasley brothers, and the most introspective. Charlie was a dragon-tamer, Percy always absorbed in his work and social climbing, Fred and George were a bag of laughs, and Ron was, well, Ron. It had taken him a few years to notice it, but Bill seemed to be the focal point of the siblings, the one they all turned to for help when they couldn't go to their parents. His calm presence and careful thought seemed to lend itself to the job, as well as his laid back attitude and easy to get along with personality.

"Before you jump to conclusions, I'm not here to lecture you about taking care of my sister." A small smile formed on Bill's lips at Harry's shock. "I'm sure my brothers have done that enough, especially Ron. I know you've never had a father figure in your life, and I just wanted to let you know if you needed anything, I'll do my best to help."

At the mention of father figures, Harry's eyes turned to the ground, but nothing could distort the meaning behind Bill's words. It was interesting - if anyone but a Weasley had talked to him about not having a father, Harry probably would have hexed first and asked questions later, but his connection to the family and all they'd done for him made it bearable. They had given him a safe place to go with his feelings whether he chose to accept it or not, they'd given him a home to return to, and it was all the more powerful coming from Bill. Harry had grown to look up to him as a role-model during the war, more so than even Mr. Weasley or anyone else. The only real father figures he'd ever had were Remus and Sirius, but they both had died in the war and weren't around long enough to have a normal relationship. Bill had actually been there in the war, been Harry's protector, and survived it to see the fall of Voldemort. Because of Harry's importance and relatively young age, the Order had assigned Bill to follow Harry whenever he left the protection of a safehouse to be a consultant and an experienced bodyguard should he need it.

"Do you ever regret the Order's assignment during the war?"

It was Bill's turn to be shocked. "No...why would you think that?"

"I don't know...I just wondered if you were forced into it. I don't want people feeling like they have to watch over me, and I know I didn't even thank you once." In fact, he'd probably given Bill more trouble than he was worth with all of his sneaking off and Horcrux hunting. The only time he'd seen Bill angry was after the Golden Trio had taken Voldemort down alone, and even then it hadn't lasted long.

"Harry, I volunteered for that assignment. You were never an official part of the Order so you wouldn't know, but we asked for volunteers, and every single member wanted the job. I had to fight for it."

"Why? Why would you want to do something like that?"

Bill gave him an almost Hermione-ish look. "Come off it Harry, we all care about you. I just knew I was the best one for the job."

Harry studied the redhead's face, seeing something he saw every day from Ginny, and every time he saw Molly Weasley. "You didn't trust anyone else, did you?"

Bill looked away, not answering. Had Harry Potter really embarrassed the unflappable Bill Weasley? It appeared so, drawing a smile at the realization. Occasional emotional insight was loads of fun, Harry decided, even as he wondered if Ginny felt like this every day when reading him like a book. Thoughts of his girlfriend brought him back to where the conversation started.

"I'm sure I'll need something. I still have no idea what I'm doing when I'm with her. It's all fumbling around and blind luck."

That broke the embarrassment and Bill laughed. "I'm afraid to say that'll never change. I'm going to be that way with Fleur until the day we die."

"Oh, you're planning on dying? I was working on immortality, but if you don't want it, I won't be insulted."

Bill raised an eyebrow and stood up, putting his hands in his pockets. "I wouldn't put it past you, Harry. I've seen you do things that I never believed possible, including taming my sister. I never thought I'd see the day where she would give her heart to someone like she has you."

Harry squirmed awkwardly, having no idea how to reply to something like that. His appreciation for Bill was at an all time high. "Thanks, Bill. You know I'll take care of her."

"If anyone can, it's you." He opened the door and walked out, leaving Harry to turn over the conversation in his head until he gave up and accepted it for what it was. He'd definitely be asking for Bill's help in the next few months.

-------------------

Harry had a distinct impression that Ginny had talked to Hermione about more than the everlasting fire, because she kept giving him odd looks and turning away from his gaze at the most random times. In fact, she seemed to be very warm to him, as if there was something she was proud of him for, except that she wasn't supposed to know he'd done it. He supposed it was all right if Ginny talked to Hermione - after all, girls did have an incurable need for gossip, and there was no way Hermione would let Ginny get away with hiding something like this.

So he was content to ward off her funny looks and brush off Ginny's obscene giddiness, trying to have a normal time with the rest of the Weasleys, who were oblivious. The only time his and Ginny's relationship was spoken of was when the couple had brought out the branch, which everyone (except Ron, the prat) admired profusely, and Hermione had her obvious string of questioning as to how he did it. As far as she knew, Harry was the only wizard alive who could infuse love into his magic, and given her research at the Department of Mysteries, she wanted to find out as much as possible. She said as much in a conversation with him while Ginny was off helping cook dinner.

"You know why the Ministry had me move to Hogsmeade?"

Harry shuddered darkly. "Yeah...because of the attack. Might as well have the 'Golden Trio' back together."

Hermione gave him a sharp look. "Actually, no. I had no idea what was in that letter, but thanks for telling me." Harry blanched, but she didn't stop. "The Department wanted me to work with you to help with understanding the magic involved with love."

Harry hesitated before responding. Technically, the Aurors could come lock him up for revealing classified information, but that was the least of his worries. Hermione would probably go about all sorts of preparations for the attack, and most of them would involve his expertise, but even that was only a minor annoyance. No, he was most worried about her research. He didn't know how he did what he did, or why it worked. He knew all the theory behind every one of his spells, but there was nothing he could explain about his special ability. It just came when needed, something he could add to his magic like a secret ingrediant, and then it settled back inside of him as if settling into bed after a long day.

"Why haven't you talked to me about it before now?"

"There were things I could do without your help, and I decided to let you finish the term before I asked. I know grading exams couldn't have been fun, and it's nicer to be able to talk here than in Hogsmeade." Not to mention much more private - she could get in serious trouble if they were overheard.

"What do you want me to do? It's not like I can explain it."

She shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. I know I'll want to study your everlasting fire."

That earned her a hard look. "You'll have to ask Ginny about that. There's no way you're going to put it out, and if you try to destroy the branch it will set you on fire, but it's still hers. I don't know if she'd be comfortable with that."

The coldness in his voice was a surprise, forcing Hermione to pull slightly away from him. No, wait. It wasn't cold, it was protective. She hadn't heard that voice in a while; he hadn't needed to protect her since the war.

"You know I'd never take something like that. Of course I'll ask her."

Harry nodded, pushing away the aggression that had taken him by surprise. He'd have to tame that monster to keep from jumping all over his friends and family; it was one thing to be protective of Ginny, it was quite another to wrap around her like a blanket. She'd made it very clear that if he pulled something like that again, he wouldn't like the consequences.

"Sorry...sometimes I lose control when it comes to her."

She smiled, thinking for a brief moment on how much he'd matured, even though he'd never say something like that to anyone besides herself and Ginny. "It's understandable, Harry. We're all a bit stupid when it comes to love. Now what was this about an attack on Hogsmeade?"

Harry sighed. He couldn't very well worm his way out of this one, but telling her any more would be blatantly ignoring the Ministry's rules. Wait, what did he care? The Ministry had (again) dragged him into something he didn't want to be involved in.

"The Death Eaters are planning a major raid on the city. I have no idea why or what they want to accomplish, but apparently the Ministry has spies within the ranks. It has to be pretty big to involve that many Eaters."

Hermione nodded. Spies, except for one Severus Snape, never got far into the circles of Death Eaters, but not for lack of trying. Anything that the Ministry's spies reported had to be big.

"What are you going to do? Warn the village and keep teachers there at all times?"

Typical Hermione. While she had a great mind for academia and general knowledge, Ron had always been the strategist. Her husband had always been quick to point out flaws in her plans, something he relished at great length because it was something he was consistently better at than she was.

"And do what, start a mass panic? The Ministry has forbidden me to say anything, that's why it was sealed as a top secret message."

She smiled humorlessly. "I wanted so bad to open it."

Surprisingly, Harry laughed. "I wish you had. I sure didn't want to."

"Why not? Don't you want to be prepared for the attack?"

"I don't want to fight anymore. I'm tired of fighting the Dark Arts. I'm perfectly happy teaching others to do it for me."

"I told you you'd like it." She looked rather smug. "But Harry, you're going to wind up defending either way. Either you were going to get caught by surprise, or you're going to be ready for them. It's not like you're just going to hear about the attack and do nothing."

_Right...again..._Harry sighed. It seemed to be his destiny until the end of time to fight Dark Magic. Maybe he'd rethink that immortality he'd promised Bill.

"I'm going to want to put some extra wards around your house...if you won't let me, I'll sneak out there and get Ron to let me while you're in London. I'm probably going to start getting my Advanced Defense class ready for a simulated attack on the school, and then hopefully they won't be as afraid when the attack comes."

"Harry! You're going to make the _students_ fight Death Eaters?"

"Hermione, I survived a duel with Tom and I didn't have half the training they have. I think they'll be all right."

"Harry, you're-"

"Don't even say it. I don't want to hear about it. There is nothing special about me, I just don't think about what I have to do. You said it yourself - I just do things, I don't stop to think about them."

She sighed, leaning fully back into the couch and closing her eyes. He could be such a pain sometimes. "Do you really think their parents would allow them to do something like that?"

Harry shrugged. "It'll be voluntary. It's not my problem if they want to go defend the village. I was just teaching them what I thought would help them the most."

"You're going to lose your job."

"Maybe, but some things are more important than my job. I'm already going to have trouble getting Ginny to stay out of it."

Hermione laughed. "You really think you're going to keep her away?"

"I'm going to try. I'll probably be sleeping in the common room for a week, but I'm going to try. I know she can take care of herself, but that doesn't mean that I have to just let her jump in front of a Death Eater's wand. I'm Harry Potter, I can be selfish."

That was his unique way of dealing with his fame; whenever he got the chance, he always made some absurd joke about doing as he pleased all the time. Both Ron and Hermione knew to never take him seriously, but it could make an uncomfortable situation if he said something like that around the press.

"Just be careful when you tell her and let me see the memory of whatever happens."

He scowled. "Is my head your personal television?"

"No...well, perhaps occasionally." She grinned as Ginny walked into the room, giving the two of them an odd look.

"I've been looking for you two. If I didn't know better, I'd think you're up to something." Her expression matched that of Mrs. Weasley when dealing with the twins.

"Not particularly, though I think your boyfriend has a death wish."

Ginny raised an eyebrow and looked over at Harry. "Oh, does he now? Why haven't I heard about this?"

He'd never get used to that look. It was mostly a piercing stare that seemed to bore straight through to his soul, but there was that splash of disappointment in him that tore at his heart and gave him a guilt trip like no one else could. "I'll talk to you about it later. I was just getting ready to come and ask your mum if there was anything I could do to help." He stood, but Ginny refused to move from the doorway to the kitchen.

"How about you tell me now, and I'll let you through the door?"

Harry shook his head. "Ginny, this really isn't the time. I promise, I'll talk to you later."

She stared him down, burning right through his hard gaze and forcing him to look away. He'd learned a long time ago what the Weasley brothers meant when they said don't mess with her - but he was getting a new appreciation for it now that their battles were emotional as well as physical.

"You better. I came to tell you dinner's ready, if you want it." She turned and left the two of them alone, obviously irritated. Hermione gave Harry an amused smile before leading the way outside to the lawn and dinner.

--------------------

The next few days passed relatively quickly for Harry. It was a lot of time spent with the Weasleys, interwoven with Ginny's attempts to shag him at every turn. After the second day, he'd finally stopped her from trying to get him into her room at the Burrow, though she wouldn't let him go to sleep without saying good night properly.

Christmas Eve and the huge Holiday Bash (as the twins named it) approached with lightning speed, with some of the more familiar guests arriving and bunking in the Weasley children's old bedroom. Tonks and Charlie were among these, as well as Neville (Ginny had insisted he stay for a while) and of course, Ron and Hermione.

The last guest was a complete surprise to Harry, and she made him more than a little uncomfortable. Mrs. Weasley had agreed to keep Gabrielle Delacour since she'd complained about having to stay with Bill and Fleur the night before Christmas Eve. Much to Harry's relief, Ginny had hinted at being tired and wanting to have her rest for the following day, giving him a good excuse to leave before the silver-haired young witch arrived.

The first time he saw her was at the party, which Ginny and Harry had decided to be fashionably late to. It didn't escape his notice that Ginny had gone out of her way to look feminine and decidedly amazing, but he didn't say anything. He'd be proving to her and Gabrielle where his heart was, and hopefully that would be the end of it. She'd never voice her opinions, but Harry knew from her dress and the tension in her upper body when he hugged her that his fling with the French still bothered her.

"'Ello, Harry." Her accent was more noticeable, giving Harry the impression she'd only worked on it for him. She still pronounced his name better than Fleur, but that was probably just habit. She didn't have much reason to talk about him while at home.

"Hi Gabrielle." They were standing outside, looking at that same blasted tree. Ginny had whined and complained when he left to go outside, but he'd assured her he wouldn't be long. In fact, he would bet a great many galleons that she came out to find him sometime in the next two minutes.

"'Ow are you liking your teaching position?"

Harry smiled genuinely. "It's great. I'm not sure exactly why I like it, but I think I found something I could do forever. How's school going for you?"

"I'm glad you are liking it...and eh...school is good. I 'ave never much enjoyed it, but it's not 'orrible."

He nodded, shifting slightly and stuffing his hands into his pockets. This was the awkward silence he'd wanted to avoid. "How's the potions work coming? Still want to do that when you finish at Beauxbatons?"

She nodded, but the usual joy of talking about her favorite subject wasn't there. "Yes. I'm not worried about what I am to do after I leave school, but more of why I am doing it."

Harry blinked, trying to wrap his mind around what she was getting at. It sounded oddly like himself before he'd found Ginny again - he'd killed Voldemort, but he really didn't have something to do with his life.

"You've got to find something you enjoy doing besides your work. That's what it's all about, having fun."

She turned to him, looking for something in his face. He reluctantly met her eyes, sensing both sorrow and slight despair. It hurt to see her like that, and it hurt even more to not know why.

"'Ow can I 'ave fun if I do not even know what I like?"

By this time, Harry felt completely out of place. What was she thinking in asking him such things? He had no idea how to answer her, and it made him feel old. These were questions you asked your older brother, or your parents, not your crush from another country.

"You just have to keep looking. It took me almost a year to find what I wanted to do, and only then because someone shoved it in my face."

"Ginny?"

Harry looked away. "No, Professor McGonagall."

The two were silent for a while, though they were both thinking of the same things. The girl their thoughts were centered on made an appearance, winning Harry his theoretical bet.

"Having loads of fun out here, I see?" She wrapped around Harry's arm possessively, never taking her eyes off Gabrielle. He almost jerked away from her malice, but he kept his feelings in check.

"Gabrielle and I were having a wonderful conversation, actually."

His rebuke surprised both girls - Ginny because he never did that to her anymore, and Gabrielle because she knew as well as anyone Ginny had him wrapped around her finger. Apparently he had more wiggle room than either of them believed. The veela gave him a warm look, thinking how typical it was of him to comfort people when they're not feeling their best.

"We were discussing my future career options. I was thinking of going into teaching, and I was going to ask Harry 'ow he liked his position."

Ginny did her best not to scowl, though she did break her eyes from Gabrielle to look up at Harry, who gave her a slight nod of confirmation.

"Oh...in that case, I guess I'll leave you two teachers alone." Harry wondered if she was really hurt, or just putting it on for Gabrielle's sake. He expected her to leave without complaint, which she did, verbally. Instead she leaned up and gave him a lingering kiss on the lips, one that he couldn't pull away from due to her vice grip on his arm. She left quietly, returning to the main party.

"I...I'm sorry about that," Harry said, looking down at his feet.

"You should not worry about it...it is to be expected. She is your mate, and I am a danger to that."

Once again, her understanding and rationale caught him by surprise. "Thank you...I wish she wouldn't be so forward about it though. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

One of her soft, amazing smiles grew on her lips. "Harry, do not worry. I knew before I came here that you wouldn't be interested any longer. It is warming, though, your sensitivity to my feelings. You truly are an amazing man and I would be proud to even mention your name as one of my friends."

Harry had to grin at that, an enormous weight coming off his chest. He was grateful she wasn't anything like Ginny; this would have been messy if it had been the other way around. Gabrielle was amazing like that, and indeed, she was right. It would make him proud to call _her_ a friend.

"You are as amazing as I am, Gabrielle. I know you'll find something to do in life that will make you happy."

She nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable for the first time. "Do...do you think it would be all right if I could get a hug?"

That was the weirdest thing he'd ever heard come from a veela's mouth, either hers or Fleur's. He stepped over to her and wrapped his arms around her in a brief hug, though one even Ginny wouldn't be able to find fault in had she been watching. The two pulled a part and shared a happy glance.

"You can always owl me if you need something."

Gabrielle smiled broader at that. "Same to you, Harry."

The rest of the party was uneventful for him, mostly because it was an adult thing. Even being nineteen, Harry still felt like he was living the childhood he'd never had. Hermione had mentioned once that he was going to be like Peter Pan, a reference he only barely understood and that Ron had been completely baffled by. The only thing he'd hoped for from the party would be Ginny's confidence that there was nothing still between him and Gabrielle, which surprisingly enough, came from a conversation between the two women after Harry went to join the twins in some joke.

Presents were usually his favorite part of Christmas, but those would have to wait until tomorrow after most people had gone home. There were too many people to consider buying presents for, so the Weasleys had decided to celebrate as a family with their houseguests the following morning.

--------------------

Ginny gasped, and her eyes turned as big as the plates she'd eaten her breakfast off of not more than an hour ago. The gift giving had been a normal occasion so far, and a happy one. Harry finally got his perfect holiday with the Weasleys, all of them sitting around the Christmas tree after a marvelous breakfast cooked by the three Weasley girls.

"Harry!" Her brown eyes turned to stare at him, obviously searching for her breath. She looked down at the long, thin package in her arms, then back at Harry, totally stunned. It was a broom, as far as anyone else could tell, but from the look on her face, it wasn't an average broom. Ron, being the resident Quidditch nutcase, rushed over to have the second look. His reaction was the same as Ginny's; he was speechless with his jaw locked firmly in the down position.

"It's...it's a _Golden Arrow..._"

Ginny was the first one to speak, but the only two in the room who didn't seem stunned were Mrs. Weasley and Fleur. Hermione was less so, but given Ron's position at the Department of Magical Games and Sports and his love for Quidditch, even she knew what the name meant. Neither Ginny nor Ron seemed to even want to touch it for fear of ruining it. Bill and Arthur leaned over to their wives and explained exactly what the broom meant.

"Harry...there were only three hundred and twenty three of these brooms made...how did you get one? They're only sold to National teams that pre-ordered..."

That brought a bigger smile to Harry's lips. Leave it to Ron to know exactly how many were made and what they were for. He could probably cite the eighteen teams that had requested them. Fred and George were next in line of broom envy - they'd played Quidditch all through their Hogwarts days and still enjoyed pick-up games with friends whenever possible - but leave it to Mrs. Weasley to get her word in.

"Harry, how much did you pay for that broom?"

Ginny shot a venomous look at her mother, being the only redhead in the room that could get away with it. Harry had prepared for this question; there was no way he would ever tell anyone how much he'd really paid for it.

"Enough, Mrs. Weasley. Trust me, your daughter was worth every Knut."

Definitely something to remember when dealing with her, Harry decided. Complimenting the children seemed to be the best way to get off the hook when talking to mothers. Ron and Ginny were still admiring the broom in the tissue paper that that had wrapped it, so Harry turned to them.

"Ginny...you can take your time, but there is a card in there you might want to read."

She almost didn't hear him, but to the protests of Ron, she ruffled through the paper and found a small white card, which had nothing on the outside. She opened it to see Harry's writing, neater than normal and in an emerald green ink. She read it silently to herself before turning pink and looking at Harry, who nodded in silent encouragement for her to read it aloud.

_Ginny,_

_I know you love flying and I know you've never been able to have a good broom of your own, so I wanted to make our first Christmas together something to remember. This broom is a remake of the old Silver Arrows - which, according to Madam Hooch, were near perfect brooms. I haven't flown on one, but I've been assured that they're twice as good as anything else out there._

_I would have had your name magically inscribed into the handle, but well, I didn't want to put Weasley on it and then have your last name change, so I promise to get it inscribed when we get married._

_Happy Christmas and I love you,  
__  
Harry_

The reactions to the card were mixed, but they were all vehemently positive. Mrs. Weasley nearly broke down in tears, Mr. Weasley reached over to comfort her, all of the Weasley brothers stared at Harry in shock and admiration, and Ginny looked like she was trying to blind someone with the brightness of her smile. Harry had never been one for attention, but in light of everything he was pretty happy to have pleased all of them, especially Ginny, so much.

Ginny set the card down on the box, looking over at Harry and pulling out her wand. "I would force you to take it back, Harry, if I didn't have a gift that was better than yours."

The entire room gave a collective blink, then more than a few coughs of disbelief from Fred and George. Ginny levitated a smallish square box into Harry's lap. Everyone's eyes followed it intently, waiting to see what she could have gotten him. Harry looked confused as he slipped the wooden box out of the wrapping paper, noting the quality of the material and the beauty of the finish.

"It's made of Holly, just like your wand."

Harry's eyes flicked up at her in surprise, wondering how she knew that. It was a pointless question - she was bound to have heard from somewhere, but wand composition wasn't a topic of everyday conversation. His eyes turned back to the box. The lid had a golden inscription, the six words written elegantly and flawlessly.

_In memory of our first kiss._

It was held in place by a gold hinge, one he carefully opened and let the metal hold the weight of the lid. Inside was a Golden Snitch, though one that was magically inert and that had its wings resting silently on the bottom of the box. A thought flashed through his head, but there was no way.

"You couldn't have..."

Ginny's smile was luminous as she nodded slightly, licking her lips before she confirmed his suspicion. "It's the snitch I caught before our first kiss to win the Cup."

She was right; her present was eight thousand times better than his. His eyes fixed on hers, his hand absently setting the box on the floor beside his feet before he rose and started toward her. Seeing what was going to happen and fearing for the broom that was still in Ginny's lap, Ron grabbed the box and held it protectively as Harry climbed on top of his girlfriend and wrapped her in a purely passionate kiss. He'd generally made a rule not to snog her in front of the family, but there was nothing holding him back now. He wanted her to know how priceless the gift was to him, and how much he loved her regardless of who was watching. Only a loud and pointed cough from Ron broke them apart, but neither was the least bit embarrassed.

"Er...sorry about that..."

The whole room laughed easily. Hermione turned to Ron, raising an eyebrow. "When are you going to get me something like that? I think I've had enough books to last a lifetime."

Everyone but Ron sniggered - even Fleur had a good laugh. "Maybe when you start snogging me like that."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Ronald..." She couldn't even think of what to say to him, so Harry filled in.

"Mate, you might want to run. She's vicious with a wand."

Ron apparently thought himself impervious to his wife. "She doesn't know I've replaced it with a fake one out of self-preservation." He waggled his eyebrows at Hermione, but again, she didn't get a chance to speak.

"Ron, if you put one mark on my broom, I will hex you all the way back to Hogsmeade."

That finally shattered his attitude. He wasn't afraid of Hermione, but doing one thing to make the item in his hands less than perfect would be nothing short of an atrocity. He held the box out to Ginny, which she accepted as Harry moved off her lap to sit next to her, squeezing his body into the chair that was only meant for one.

The rest of Christmas went as well as the gifts. Ginny and Harry got a chance to privately thank each other again for their gifts, which had been by far the most meaningful, and he got his wish; they would never forget the first Christmas they spent together. The end of the holidays came all too soon, forcing the four bound for Hogsmeade onto the Hogwarts Express with much reluctance and many sweets from Mrs. Weasley. As the Hogwarts Express moved out of the station, Harry was inexplicably reminded of the impending attack on Hogsmeade, and his responsibility as the most powerful wizard in the magical world.


	17. Zero Hour

_Author's Note: Only _one_ thing I can say about this chapter - hold on to your hats, because this story is getting ready to move._

_Oh, and 100+ alerts! Go me! As always, I love reviews. _:D

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Chapter Seventeen: Zero Hour

Ginny had forgotten about what Harry had hid from her, but he had not. As the aforementioned wizard made his way down to Hogsmeade the day after returning from the winter holidays, he mulled over in his mind how to tell her. She'd been busy with Madam Pomfrey since early that morning, so he'd decided to go down to the village to discuss the impending attack with Hermione and maybe pick up some advice from her. He hoped he wouldn't have to involve Ron with the defense plans, but that was probably unavoidable. He wouldn't have been surprised if Hermione had already let him in on it.

Either way, Harry wanted to reinforce the wards on the married couple's house as soon as possible. There were a couple bits of dark magic that he had wanted to attach to them originally that Hermione had refused, but now he wasn't going to wait for her permission. Given the choice of having his best friend angry or dead, he'd choose angry.

There wasn't much light left by the time he'd been able to free himself from his teaching duties, so hopefully he would be able to grab a bite of Hermione's undoubtedly wonderful dinner to give him something to burn off as he wove his patterns of magical protection.

_Knock, Knock._ Two short raps lured Ron to the door, opening it and smiling when he saw his best friend.

"I didn't think you'd make it down here so quick...don't you have things to do?"

Harry shook his head. "I got Hermione to do most of it for me. I'll probably still be using her lesson plans 20 years from now, if I last that long."

Ron gestured for him to come in and shut the door behind him. Harry marveled again at how Hermione had made the place so comfortable for her and her husband. There were plenty of warm, comfy chairs with magical lights behind them to read by, and Ron's beloved chess set was the focal point of the living room. He knew the stairs led up to the two bedrooms, one of which was apparently off limits to Ron most of the time; the Ministry was serious about their secrecy regulations when it came to the Unspeakables' work.

"That's the way to go. I never have to do anything around here anymore, I just wait for her to get frustrated enough at me to do it herself."

"What was that Ronald Weasley?" Hermione's sharp voice came from the kitchen as Ron clamped his jaw shut. He spoke much softer this time.

"I swear, I can't say anything without her hearing about it. It's almost not fair."

Harry laughed. Ginny was the same way with him. "Better get used to it mate, you're going to have to answer to her for the next hundred or so years."

Ron shuddered. "You reckon I'll live that long? I mean, I'm not exactly a powerful wizard, and marriage isn't making my life any longer."

Harry shook his head. "Don't tell me that...I'm about to get married too, you know."

That probably wasn't the brightest thing to say to Ron at that moment, but at least he didn't take it badly. He'd come to terms with Harry and Ginny's relationship, even if he was still getting over his doubt. Time was forcing him to accept that Harry wasn't going to leave his sister again, and even if he did, Ginny would never find anyone else. You couldn't leave a relationship like theirs and find a reason to put yourself out there again - if something ever happened to Hermione, Ron couldn't see himself ever going within 10 feet of another woman.

"So when are you going to pop the question?"

Harry frowned. "I hope I didn't give that impression...I wasn't planning on it for a while. I haven't even figured out how to do it yet."

Ron shrugged. "Take her to a nice restaurant, talk about how romantic everything is, and definitely how amazing she is, then ask. It's not like she's going to say no."

"Ronald!" Hermione's voice came from right behind him and caused him to jump slightly. "I would hope that getting engaged means more to you that that."

Harry grinned as he hugged his figurative sister in greeting. "Nice to see you're still in charge."

She rolled her eyes and cocked her head at her husband. "As if he would ever want to be. Nothing would ever get done around here."

Ron sighed loudly and left the room, presumably to go have a taste of whatever Hermione was cooking. Harry dropped his cheery nature and spoke quickly to Hermione.

"I need some time to set up additional wards around the house, and I need you to see if there's any ex-Aurors or other trained wizards in the town willing to help. Be quiet about it, but try and hurry. We have less than a month until the attack."

Hermione shook her head. "Harry, you need to talk to Ron about this. I've already told him - you need him to plan the defense."

Harry sighed, but he had to give in to the inevitable. "All right, I'll talk to him. What did you make to eat?"

She shrugged. "Nothing special, but before you invite yourself, let me go ahead and ask you if you want something. I make enough for a small army to keep Ron happy anyway."

Harry accepted her offer, making pleasant conversation with the couple until about halfway through the meal. A comfortable silence had settled over them, but as reluctant as he was to break it, Harry knew this was as good of a time as any.

"So Hermione's filled you in about the attack?"

Ron nodded slowly, for once not concentrating on the food. That was one of the first things his wife had done after getting home; she'd seemed rather upset and needed the soothing effect he could have on her.

"What do you think? The village square seems the most defensible position to me, if we can get all of the villagers there. We can't defend them if they're spread out all over the place."

Ron nodded again. That was one of the fundamental rules of chess - always support your pieces, lest they be picked off one by one. "Well, things are going to be a bit rough because we can't tell anyone about what's coming. The best we can do is have a plan for herding them all together once the attack starts, and then going from there. I assume the teachers will help in defense?"

Harry nodded. "They should. We need to have some sort of system of warning though. We have no idea when the attack is coming."

Hermione gave a smug smile, pulling out a galleon from her pocket. "Remember these?"

Both men gave her a smile. Dumbledore's Army would always be a fond memory. "So I'll just have to keep it on me at all times?" Harry asked.

"Well..." She set the coin on the table. "Not exactly. I've gotten a little better with my Protean Charm, and I think it will get hot and start dancing on whatever surface it's on, and use whatever light it can to reflect."

Harry shook his head disbelievingly as Ron gave her a look of admiration. She turned a little pink. "Oh, honestly boys, you'd think you'd be used to it by now." But that didn't stop her from showing the smallest bit of pride in her eyes.

"Okay, so I'll have the galleon, and then I can warn the school...is there anyone in Hogsmeade that will help?"

Both Ron and Hermione shrugged. "We don't really know too many people here yet. We don't go into town much," Ron said.

Harry mulled over this. Ron never seemed like the type for a quiet life, but Hermione did, and she must have been rubbing off on her husband. "Well, that's what you two need to be doing - look for ex-Aurors or the like that would be willing to help. Just make sure you do it discretely." Harry lowered an eye at Ron.

"Of course, Harry." Hermione cut in. "I'm sure Ron will get working on the defense plans as soon as possible, right?"

The redhead gave a wince like she'd kicked him under the table. "Yeah, sure. I'll get right on it."

Harry's lips thinned in a forced back smile as he finished his plate. "There was one other thing I came for - I'm going to be reinforcing the wards on your house. I want to know you two will have a safe place to be."

Hermione glared at him, knowing exactly what he meant. "You most certainly will not, Harry Potter. I'm not having any sort of dark magic in or around _my_ home."

Harry groaned. "Come off it Hermione, I'll lift them after the attack. It's not like you'll notice them anyway - I'll come down here while you're away and do it if you don't let me, but that would be quite a bother as I'd have to get a blood sample from you somehow."

Even Ron looked horrified by even the idea. "Blood...sample?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes Ron, blood. Dark Magic is very primitive in ways, thinking that most wizards wouldn't have the courage to prick themselves. Unless you're scared, Ron..." He threw him a teasing look, wiping the redhead's face clean of fear and replacing it with annoyance.

"I'm not afraid of you, Potter."

Both Harry and Hermione were relieved to see the friendly glint in his eyes - two months ago those words might not have been taken so lightly.

"All right then, let's go outside and see how unafraid you really are."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the boys, clearing the table and magically cleaning the dishes. Not that she minded - boys would always be boys. She'd have to get Ginny down for some long overdue girl time. They certainly had a few things to discuss, and at least to Hermione, a lot of them had to do with the intimacy of Harry Potter.

-------------------

After much trepidation and light argument, Hermione finally let Harry prick her for the blood wards under the vow that he would remove them as soon as the attack was done. After Harry found his way back to the castle, he saw that Ginny was exhausted when Madam Pomfrey finally let her go. Indeed, Harry was lucky to get ten words out of her before she was out like a light, so he just enjoyed her sleeping form and curling into her warm body like nothing else mattered to him.

Monday came with alarming speed, and Harry was up starting off the new term with a firm lecture to his sixth-years about getting back on track. One thing Harry _had_ been able to forget over the holiday was Rebecca Princeton's pregnancy; though it was hardly possible now that he was back at school. Rumors had already started to fly about her slightly increased weight, but it was nothing other than schoolgirl gossip about putting on a few extra pounds. Still, Harry could tell it was getting to the Ravenclaw, mostly because she knew what those rumors would turn into once her belly became something decidedly not a few extra pounds.

Fortunately, her memory seemed to be as good as ever, and she was not a minute late to their Monday session. While it was hardly just an extra Imperius lesson anymore, they did work on that for the first twenty minutes to moderate success. She wouldn't be ready to face a Death Eater at the moment, but she wasn't far from it, Harry decided. Perhaps they could have this whole business wrapped up before the real strains of having a child set in.

"I think that's enough for today, Miss Princeton."

She sagged into a chair, having just barely fought off the curse before picking up the quill they'd grown fond of using. The task had become a game, a game that Harry won if he could get her to write her name on a parchment in front of her, but if she managed to drop the quill and say no, Rebecca won. Harry made sure there were always little prizes - Honeydukes' chocolate, sweets, and the rest. But mostly her prize was talking with Harry - she'd had a little more time to think on it during the holidays, and she'd decided she liked the big brother role he seemed to be taking. It was nice to have someone care for her like he did.

"When are we going to stop, Professor?"

Harry set his wand down and folded his hands on his lap. "Whenever you or your health dictates. I know Madam Pomfrey would string me up by my toes if she finds out I've been putting you through such strenuous lessons."

Rebecca laughed. She'd been around the medi-witch enough to know that that wasn't a complete exaggeration. "I don't think I'm quite comfortable yet, and I don't know if I ever will be."

Harry nodded, though he knew what she was really trying to say. Regardless of the trust that had developed between them, she was still very much like him at her age - quite unwilling to trust anyone with her feelings. "Miss Princeton, you are welcome in my office whether you need help with coursework or not. I'm always hoping to helping my students, whatever their problems."

And yet, that was a problem itself. They had to maintain a strictly professional relationship - maybe Dumbledore had been able to get away with showing a little favoritism every once in a while, but Harry most definitely could not. Rebecca needed so much more than a concerned Professor.

She slumped in her chair, not really caring what she came off as. It was up to her professor to maintain that professionalism. "It's just so hard, listening to what everyone says about me. And I know it's only going to get worse when they figure out the truth. Well, part of the truth anyway." Her face turned dark. She would get a horrible reputation as a slag no matter how she tried to defend herself, because she certainly wasn't going to tell the whole school what had really happened. There were only four people at Hogwarts that knew, and she was going to keep it that way.

"I know a little bit of what you're going through...you were here my fourth and fifth year, you probably heard all of the gossip about me."

She nodded. "That's why I want to talk to you about it. You're probably the one person who can understand."

Harry was surprised by her honesty. Even if it was true, most people couldn't articulate their feelings that well and use such an objective tone. It was almost like she was in complete control, but yet having no power over herself at all.

An idea struck him, one spawned from his previous ideas of what she could do with the baby, since she was determined to go through with the pregnancy. "Would it be any better if you didn't have to live at the castle?"

She looked up at him in obvious surprise. Suddenly, the floor didn't seem quite as interesting as his question. "I...I think so...but where would I go?"

"You know who Ron and Hermione Weasley are?"

She nodded, staring blankly. Of course she knew - everyone knew the story of the Golden Trio.

"They're living in Hogsmeade at the moment, and I think I could arrange it so you could live with them for this term. You'd still have to come to classes as often as possible, but I think I could bribe Hermione into tutoring you if you can't make it."

Not for the first, or second time in his presence, her face lit up with pure joy. "I would love that!" Unfortunately, her emotions fell from there. "But I don't want to impose, and I don't think they'd like having me."

It was all Harry could do not to roll his eyes. "Miss Princeton, I'm sure they'd love to have you. I've known them for half my life now, and they would never turn down such a pleasant houseguest. The biggest block is McGonagall, but I think I can deal with her." There was that twinkle again, one that looked nearly identical to Dumbledore's.

Rebecca's giddy smile returned and she had to resist the urge to run and tackle him with a hug. "Thank you Professor! I promise I won't say anything until you've got it worked out."

Harry returned her smile, glancing at his watch. "I do think it is time for you to head back to your common room, though. I'll be getting in touch this week."

She nodded. "I can't thank you enough Professor for all you've done for me."

He blushed slightly. "It's nothing, Miss Princeton. Now off with you, before I have to escort you myself."

She giggled and slipped out the door, tucking her wand away in her robes as she went. Harry leaned back in his chair, basking in the warm feeling that was rushing across him. Somehow, he knew he'd never willingly give up his teaching post. Watching students light up like that for various reasons was priceless.

--------------------

The next time Harry saw Miss Princeton was three days later, and he wasn't in any worse a mood than she'd left him that Monday night. He spotted her over at the Ravenclaw table, but given their already rumored about study sessions, he didn't think it was a good idea to pull her out of lunch for a reason she couldn't very well tell the rest of her friends about. Harry wondered how good of friends they actually were, if they just let her feel bad about all of the gossip about her. Ron and Hermione had always been on his side (well, with the exception of the unfortunate fourth year, but Ron had gotten over that), and that had made all the difference for him.

Perhaps that would make all the difference for her too. Ron could be a little rough around the edges at times, but Harry knew Rebecca would appreciate his honesty and playful nature, even if she didn't quite buy into his loony antics herself. Hermione might as well have been a Ravenclaw if she hadn't been meant to be Harry's best friend, and Harry knew the two girls would hit it off and Rebecca might find comfort in a woman's touch that Harry could never have.

He caught the young Ravenclaw on her way to Transfiguration, risking tardiness to his own after-lunch class to speak with her.

"Miss Princeton!"

She stopped in the hallway. Harry had waited until it was almost empty, and she had no friends to be awkward around. "Yes, Professor?"

"I've spoken with the Headmistress of your living conditions. She's given her approval, and assuming you'd like to make the transition as soon as possible, Ron and Hermione are coming up to take you tonight at seven."

She looked shocked. Never in her wildest dreams (and she had some pretty wild ones) did Rebecca ever think this would happen so fast. She was grateful, of course, but she hadn't really had time to pack. Harry must have sensed this as a small smile graced his lips.

"If you need time to pack, I might be able to find ways to entertain them for a little while."

The Ravenclaw nodded thankfully. "I should hope that I will be ready, but just in case..."

Harry nodded in understanding. All he had to do was get Hermione into the Library and Ron a look at Ginny's new broom...or even just give Hermione a look at the branch that she'd asked about. He hadn't brought it up since that day over the break because the attack on Hogsmeade was of much more importance.

"You'd better hurry - I know Professor Crane isn't too pleased with students arriving late."

Rebecca nodded and smiled before she dashed off down the corridor.

--------------------

As it turned out, Rebecca was ready even before seven. _So much for getting some time with friends,_ Harry thought wistfully. He hadn't seen Ginny much over the past few days other than meeting her exhausted body in bed (that was saying something, because she hadn't let him go to bed without exhausting _him_ after Christmas), and as much as he saw of Ron and Hermione, he couldn't get enough of them. Sometimes he longed for the days when they couldn't be seen separated.

Rebecca danced nervously on her feet as she watched the gates to the castle, standing next to her trunk a couple feet away from a completely calm Harry. Unlike the young witch, Harry knew exactly what his friends' reactions would be. As their familiar figures appeared hand in hand, Harry smiled and walked out to greet them while Rebecca hung back.

"Thank you so much for doing this." Harry greeted them both with a hug, breaking their hands apart. Hermione shook her head.

"It's nothing Harry, you know that. I could use a bit of company while the prat is at work." She jerked her head in the direction of her husband as Harry smiled. They never missed a chance to take a shot at each other, even now. It was so absurdly normal.

In an effort to avoid an extended show of affectionate argument, Harry turned to the black-haired witch behind him and gestured with a hand. "Ron, Hermione, this is Rebecca Princeton. Miss Princeton, Ron and Hermione will be taking care of you until the end of term." It was a bit formal, but Harry didn't see any other way to go about it. Ron gave him a funny look, but an elbow from Hermione cut him off.

"It's nice to meet you, Rebecca." Hermione held out her hand, which the girl tentatively shook.

"The pleasure's mine, Missus Weasley."

Ron couldn't help but snigger, both at the formal greeting and the Weasley attached to Hermione's name. Harry wondered if he'd ever get over it.

"Aww, come on, must we be so stiff?" Ron held out a lanky arm in a much more causal posture than his wife. "Good to have ya aboard."

Rebecca seemed to have no clue what to do with the redhead, but she shook his hand politely. "Thank you for having me, Mr. Weasley."

Ron's face scrunched. "Now you make me feel like my father...please, call me Ron. And she's Hermione, before you ask."

Harry watched the exchange with silent amusement, wondering how Rebecca would even survive the first week. He suspected Ron would get a nice talking to later that night, but there was nothing Hermione could tactfully to at the moment other than steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Ronald, grab her trunk. Harry, will you be coming with us down to the house?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, I'm expected at dinner. You know, I have this thing called a job."

She rolled her eyes. "All right, be a prat if you want to. See how many more times you get invited down."

Harry gave her a lopsided grin. "Who said I needed an invite?"

She shook her head and turned to Rebecca, beckoning the Ravenclaw down the path as Ron grumbled about having to carry the trunk. Not that it was that bad with magic, but give Ron something to complain about and you'd never hear the end of it. Harry was still chuckling as he made his way back into the Entrance Hall and back to dinner.

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Harry rubbed his nose into a long mane of beautiful red-gold hair, wanting to be nowhere else but in his exact position at that exact moment. Saturday mornings were quickly becoming the best part of his life, especially after the rather intimate Christmas he and his lover had spent together. Gone where the unwritten rules of intimacy, gone were the fears of contact and awkwardness of boundaries. Harry's arms were wrapped loosely around her sides, his hands sliding up under her shirt and running in long ellipses up and down her soft stomach, drawing a very sleepy smile to her lips.

"I love you."

She shifted slightly, moving to press her back into his and giving a soft moan of contentment. "I love you too..." Her voice was soft and melted together like a warm blanket running over his ears, but he had no trouble making out her words. For once in his life, he'd come to expect them, to know that someone loved him, and that he loved that someone back with all of his soul.

He kissed the back of her neck through her hair, running a finger around her belly button and eliciting a soft giggle from the girl in his arms. "Stop it..." She half whispered, half whined. Harry shook his head no into her hair, running another circle with his finger tip as her stomach jumped back from his touch.

"Harry..."

He relented, smiling more than he could ever remember. They laid there in utter bliss for what seemed like ages before Ginny finally turned around in his arms, slowly snaking her own around his neck and letting her eyes flutter open. The softly glowing brown orbs were filled with a sleepy passion, only enhanced by the flow of her eyelashes as she blinked once. Harry could have stared for days into her beauty, but she had other ideas.

Her lips met his in a gentle kiss, neither pressing into him nor pulling back, just waiting for him to accept, which he did immediately. Their kisses were short, somewhat chaste, but no less passionate, and certainly had something to do with the strong hand that was now winding its way up her back and pulling her body into his. Her arms wrapped farther around his neck as she snuggled into him, his bare chest feeling almost as wonderful against her as the earthly scent did to her nose. Her hands laced into his hair, pushing his head down from the back as he bowed obediently, allowing her to bury her face into the top of his head and take a long, slow breath before letting it out again.

He took the opportunity to kiss her chest gently, and even through the thin fabric of her shirt she could feel his affection. She expressed her pleasure with another soft noise into his hair, her fingertips rubbing the back of his head gently. He melted into her all over again, his body molding around hers as her fingers sent waves of pleasure through his already relaxed muscles. She knew what she was doing, and he loved her for it. She moved down farther under the covers, enough to land a warm kiss on his forehead and gaze down at his dancing eyes.

Their lips met again, this time deeper, and allowing passage of tongues. Their kiss rolled softly as Ginny found herself on top of her lover, her hands sliding up his cheeks and cupping his amazingly handsome face between them. His hands were on her hips, holding her as his tongue flitted against hers, careful not to be overwhelming, but making its presence known. Ginny held the kiss a moment longer, then pulled away and stroked his cheek with her thumb, her lips forming the soft words against his.

"You...are...so...amazing."

His lips attached to her upper one, sucking lightly before replying in the same fashion, his breath mixing with hers. "That's nothing to what you are..."

She smiled and rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes and wrapping herself in his aura. It felt wonderful, warm, soft, comforting...

Something growled, loudly. Ginny gasped, looking down at Harry, who was staring up at her in the same shock. There was no point in denying it - both knew who it had came from, and it wasn't a Potter. Yet.

"I'm so sorry Harry...I've ruined the moment!"

All he could do was snigger under her and give her a quick peck on the lips. "Ginny, you didn't...trust me. There's nothing wrong with being hungry, especially for a Weasley."

That didn't stop her ears from turning a bright shade of red as she rolled off him, letting out a huge sigh. "And it was so bloody perfect too."

Harry shook his head, smiling. "We've got another hundred and fifty years or so to do that. Don't be too disappointed."

She looked over at him in slight surprise. "You think we'll live that long? I mean, I know Dumbledore, but he was really powerful."

Harry didn't miss the chance to poke her side gently. "You better, because I know I am, and I'm not living down here without you."

She laughed, happy that he could joke about something like that. It wouldn't have had nearly the same impact had he said it during the war. "Harry, as long as you're alive, I'm not going anywhere. I wouldn't want you to think I'm leaving you."

He ran a hand through her hair, then glanced toward the bathroom. "You better not...but dibs on the bathroom!" With surprising quickness for one still in bed, he stood and dashed through the door, leaving a grinning Ginny Weasley behind him. She certainly didn't need the bathroom this morning - she would quite like the expression on his face when he caught her changing in the middle of their bedroom.

--------------------

"What's that?" Ginny asked at breakfast, not thirty minutes later and watching Hedwig as she flew into the Great Hall. Harry had chosen to sit with his girlfriend instead of joining his colleagues at the staff table - breakfast wasn't a formal affair in any case. The owl in question dropped a thick, official looking piece of parchment next to Harry's plate, perching herself on his shoulder and nibbling his ear expectantly. The letter was sealed with the now familiar Ministry top secret mark; but it wasn't that it meant much to Ginny. Whatever Harry saw, she would too.

But first, the raven-haired wizard had to take care of the other girl in his life. He fed Hedwig a bit of sausage and stroked her with a practiced touch, drawing a low hoot from the snowy owl. Ginny smiled; she'd always found Hedwig to be amazing. Harry had expressed to both of his girls that Ginny entitled to use Hedwig as much as she wanted, something that had made the Weasley very happy. She'd never had an owl of her own, and now to have probably the best owl in Britain at her service...? Simply amazing.

It had been three weeks since he'd sent his reply back to the ministry after setting the wards on Ron and Hermione's house, making him wonder whether the Ministry was going to reply at all. They'd certainly taken their time. Harry broke the seal on the letter, glancing around to make sure there were no nosy eyes catching his business. Ginny leaned over to read with him.

Mr. Potter,

Thank you for your correspondence, and we will be taking your plans into account in our response. We have several squads of Aurors waiting on hand to flank the Death Eaters when they arrive, assuming your plan to funnel them into the town square works as planned. You should be aware that the Ministry has, for this defense only, authorized the use of Unforgivable Curses on known Death Eaters. Though we do not wish any to escape, inform your people to use stunners whenever possible. There are innocent people in the village, and it would be a tragedy should a Killing Curse go awry.

Thank you again for your cooperation,

Rufus Scrimgeour

Minister of Magic

"Did...Did I just read what I thought I read?" Ginny whispered. Harry quickly rolled up the parchment and stuck it inside his robes; that was definitely not for the public's eye. He almost wished Ginny hadn't seen it.

"If you're talking about legalizing Unforgivables, yes." There was no sugar-coating something like that. The Ministry obviously wanted these people down. Harry wondered vaguely who authorized something like this. It seemed like a Barty Crouch Sr. thing to do.

Ginny got very quiet and bit her lip. Harry turned to her, feeling her distress like an angry red beacon through the darkness. "What is it?"

"Will...Will you be using them?"

The thought hadn't even occurred to him yet. He was just wondering what this meant for the Aurors, and how he was going to coordinate a defense if the only thing between the Aurors using Unforgivables and his people were Death Eaters.

"No, Ginny. I would never think of using them again, especially now."

She looked sharply at him. "What do you mean, especially now?"

_Bugger..._Harry thought. There was no use trying to lie his way out of this one; Ginny probably already knew what he was going to say. "Ginny...during the war was different. I have a lot more to think about now than then. I only had to think about killing Voldemort, not living my life."

"You're holding back because of me." She said flatly.

Harry sighed. "Yes, Ginny. I can't look you in the eye if I know I've killed someone. I...I can't take the guilt."

Her expression softened as her hand slid up to his cheek. "Harry...I'll still love you no matter what happens. I'd much rather have you than them. Promise me that if it comes down to it, you won't stop because of me."

"Ginny..."

"Harry, I mean it. I don't care if you have to kill all of them, as long as you're safe."

He sighed, trying to think, but she wasn't doing a very good job of letting him. This was a spur of the moment, right in your face decision that he really didn't want to make. In the end, his heart got the better of him. If Ginny wanted it, than he wasn't going to deny it to her.

"Yes, Ginny. I promise I'll do everything I can to come back to you."

She smiled weakly, and then buried her nose into his neck and wrapped around him. Everyone knew Harry Potter was target number one for the Death Eaters, no matter what. She'd thought he would be done with all of this, that she wouldn't have to worry about him getting hurt.

--------------------

"Okay, that's enough for now," Harry called, reigning in the attention of his Hufflepuff and Gryffindor Advanced Defense class the next day. "I have something I want to say, and then you're free to go."

The gathering of students gathered close around him, breaking out of their partnerships for practicing dueling and looking expectantly at their Professor. Ginny was standing next to him in the middle of the small circle, wondering exactly how he was going to say what he wanted to without revealing anything. They were lucky there weren't any Hermione's out in the crowd - if there were, Harry would have no hope.

"I'm very proud of all of you, and I know you all have been working very hard. I hope this day never comes, but in the rare event you do need to turn your wand on a fellow human being, I want you all to be ready." Harry's eyes surveyed the crowd, his magically amplified voice cutting through the murmurs easily.

"There may come a time when you are forced to defend yourself, or those you love. In that case, I do not want a single one of you to hesitate. The Dark Arts live off of confusion, regret, hate, and despair. I never want to see any of you giving in, or giving up. You will all be able to stand strong and hold your own against any dark wizard I have ever met. You, not the person next to you, but you will make a difference if you stand. Be responsible to yourself, and no one can fault you for that."

By now, a hushed silence fell over the students. Harry had never given a speech like this before - all he'd ever done was say how times were great and they would probably never need these skills, but they were good to know just in case, but now he was asking them to be ready to stand and fight? The Gryffindors roared in approval, their courage and bravery unmatched. Reluctantly, the loyal Hufflepuffs joined, ready to stand with their brothers against this unknown enemy. Ginny gave Harry an admiring look, but the Professor was looking amazed at the response. He'd expected maybe a few fired up students, but not the entire crowd. It made him vaguely pleased with himself.

"Dismissed."

The classes began filing out, whispering excitedly amongst themselves, no doubt making solid pacts to stand together and to never leave each other's side. That was exactly what Harry needed, and it sent another warm feeling through his heart to know he had such wonderful students under his watch.

"I'll stand with you forever, Harry." Ginny wrapped around his arm, smiling up at him and letting the waves of her chestnut eyes wash over him. He stiffened, causing a slight alarm to go off in her head, but he spoke first.

"Ginny...I want you here during the attack. At Hogwarts."

Disbelief replaced her warm expression, then anger. "Harry, we've been over this. You are not going to force me away like you did during the war."

He sighed, knowing they were about to have a huge row. "Ginny, you're needed here. You're a healer; we're going to need you to take the injured and make sure they don't become casualties too."

Her voice now sounded with the anger on her face. "No. I'm coming with you. If anything, I can get to the injuries faster if I'm there."

"Ginny..."

She wouldn't listen. "Harry, if you know what's best for you, you'll go rethink what you're about to say." She gave one last angry glare at him before turning on her heel and marching back toward the castle. Harry stood dumbfounded for a long minute, wondering what exactly he should do. But then, there was never a question, was there?

He marched up after Ginny, running after her and following her all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. She was too angry to notice, too angry to see him slip into their room after her, too angry to even look behind her before she dove onto their bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Her shoulders shook as she pressed her face hard into her pillow, the soft sounds of her weeping reaching Harry's ears until he could stand it no longer.

"Ginny, look. I know I'm right about this. You need to be here. Madam Pomfrey needs you."

She whirled, her eyes bloodshot, her voice cracking with every word. "What do you know about what I need?!" She found the strength to stand and stride over to him projecting her failing voice into his face. "Maybe I _need_ to be there with you! Maybe I _need_ to be with you because I _need_ to know you're okay!" Her balled fists hit his chest, grabbing his shirt and pushing him against the wall. Her forehead pressed into him, her tears falling to his chest and her body pressing against his as he stroked her head comfortingly with his hand.

"Ginny...I'm going to be all right. Nothing is going to keep me away from you."

She pulled back, looking like a clash of anger and terror. "What do you know, Harry? This could be the last conversation we ever have!"

That struck him like ice. She could very well be right - he'd always been lucky against the Death Eaters, but his luck was going to run out eventually. Either he would be skilled enough to survive, or he would die. "Ginny. Nothing is keeping me away from you. I promise."

Anger seemed to be winning. "And yet you're forcing me to stay out of the fight, where I belong." Her tone shifted from cracking to low and menacing, the end dripping with sarcasm.

"Ginny, you chose to be a healer. That is where you belong."

"No! Harry, you are more important than everything else! I belong with you!"

_Goddamnit..._It was so hard to fight her. He wanted to tell her she was right, that she belonged with him, but he couldn't take that risk. Not now.

"Ginny, you're staying here. You know you'll be more help here than there. You could save so many lives just by being here."

Her eyes looked up into his, a fiery rage building. "I don't care. I would trade all of them for you."

At that, Harry lost it. He grabbed her shoulders and pinned her against the wall, pressing his hips into her to pin her even harder. "Don't you _ever_ say that again. If you have 10 lives you could save, I better fucking die."

Her denial was simple and cold. "No."

They glared at each other, waging their silent war through a storm of brown and green. Seconds stretched into minutes, and neither of them moved an inch.

It was Harry who broke first. He crushed his lips into hers, immediately feeling her body wrap around his in return out of pure desire. That's all it was...desire, and the threat of death. His hands tore at her shirt, ripping it into two and pulling it off her as she furiously worked the buttons on his. His lips never left hers, their tongues continuing their silent war as he pinned her against the wall, finally able to slip out of his shirt. They worked each other's pants, pulling everything off in one stroke, Harry's hands slid up to massage her breasts and push her bra violently out of the way as her legs wrapped around his hips, forcing his hands to cup her arse and hold her up.

This was nothing like their previous encounters. As Harry shagged her heavily against the wall, it was hot desire, lust, and need to reaffirm life and their relationship. Some five, maybe less, minutes later, the couple was covered in a slick layer of sweat, groaning and gasping against each other, moaning their lovers' names in unison, collapsing together to the floor. They lay panting together, Ginny on top, Harry's back lying on their discarded clothes. Not a word was said, not a move was made for an eternity as the two lay together, recovering and each letting their minds and thoughts disappear.

--------------------

Oh...fuck.

The galleon was dancing, and upon touch, was burning hot. Harry swore violently aloud. _Why does it have to be tonight, of all nights?_ It looked as though Ginny was going to win without even trying. She was down seeing Rebecca for a checkup, having to leave a short while after their lust-driven actions, leaving him on the floor attempting to come to grips with what had happened. He'd finally moved up to the bed, where he rose from now. He took a peek out of his window, and it seemed too late to rouse his Army. The flashes were even visible from the top of Gryffindor Tower.

Harry took time only to grab his wand and throw on his cloak before dashing down the stairs, running flat out to the Headmistress's office. He bellowed the password at the gargoyle, who leapt aside for him as Harry dashed up the stairs.

"Professor! There's an attack on Hogsmeade!"

Her stunned face lasted all of a half a second after she saw the look on his. Harry didn't even wait for a response; he dashed out and headed toward the entrance hall. He considered ripping a hole in the apparition wards around Hogwarts, but the school needed its protection now more than ever. He dashed out through the Entrance Hall, running full speed toward the gates, praying he wasn't too late.


	18. Dead Without You

_Author's Note: I'd like to thank Greg, who was my wonderful beta for this chapter. Without him this would have been a disaster._

_Thanks to for all of the reviews...they're what makes writing this all the more special. _

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**_Chapter Eighteen: Dead Without You_**

Harry knew McGonagall would be rallying the Hogwarts staff momentarily, but he couldn't wait for them, not with Ginny and Rebecca down in the village. It was one thing for just Rebecca to be there, but it was entirely another to have Ginny with her. Once the attack started, Harry knew there would be no keeping the youngest Weasley inside the house, no matter how safe she was. With the new, improved wards, nothing was getting through that Ron and Hermione wouldn't allow, and there was no spell that Harry was aware of that could take down either the house or the wards, but that didn't help her if she wasn't inside of them.

When he'd sent Rebecca down to the house to live, he'd thought that Ron and Hermione would have enough sense to stay put and wait for him, but Ginny threw all that into the air. She would want to fight, would want to help the villagers the moment the spells started flying, but there was no way either Ron or Hermione would let her out alone, and neither of them would even suggest forcing her to stay inside. Well, they wouldn't for long, but they would most certainly try. As Harry reached the outskirts of the old village, houses were already burning and releasing acrid black smoke into the air, and people were screaming in the streets at the black robed and masked figures sweeping among them, causing havoc and destruction.

For the moment, Harry sensed there was nothing that needed to immediately be done. The Death Eaters were just having their fun, but no one had died yet - the Dark Mark hadn't made its nasty appearance - but he did need to get over to the other side of the village. Ron and Hermione lived on the opposite side of Hogwarts to avoid all the traffic, but it was perhaps fatally inconvenient in this case. Harry slid into the shadows of the buildings, stunning an unsuspecting Death Eater and laying an anti apparition ward on him before sneaking onward.

--------------------

"Ginny! You have to stay here and watch Rebecca. We've got to go find Harry!"

_BANG!_ Another curse impacted the wards around Ron and Hermione's small dwelling, but they didn't show any sign of giving in. Hermione silently thanked Harry for whatever he had done; the Death Eaters had tried everything up to and including mass Reductor curses to get in. The attack had been well planned - the eight black-clad wizards outside knew exactly who was in the house.

"Hermione, if you think for one-"

"Ginny, Rebecca is your patient and your responsibility. Take care of her." Ron joined in the argument on his wife's side, peering out the window to watch the shadowy forms dance around outside, their backs lit by the fires in the village.

A high-pitched whine came from where Ginny and Rebecca were standing, but Ron had nailed her to the wall. Madam Pomfrey had drilled that into her young apprentice's head from day one - never leave your patient unattended, and certainly keep him or her away from danger as much as humanly possible.

"Ron, can you cover me? I'm going to sneak out the back and try to come around from behind."

The redhead threw a glance at his wife. "I'll sneak, you cover."

He cowered under her death glare as another curse impacted the window. Their aim was good, but Harry's wards were better. "Ronald, don't you dare cross me."

Instead of trying to stutter out a response, he cracked the window in front of him, letting a few Impediment Curses fly as Hermione disillusioned herself and snuck out the back. The Death Eaters ducked from Ron's magic, though he could only pray they hadn't caught sight of Hermione.

The brown-haired witch slipped into the shadows of the house, scanning the ground around her. Ron was right; there were a total of eight Death Eaters in the fields surrounding the house, six in front and two guarding the back door she just exited, though they'd been thrown to the ground by Ron's barrage.

The irony would have been funny if the situation hadn't been so dire - the Half-Blood Prince saved the Golden Trio once again.

_Levicorpus! _Hermione thought, flicking her wand at the farthest Death Eater. He was strung up by his ankles, his wand falling to the ground as his companion turned to see what the yelp was about, giving her time to send a verbal stunner right into his back. He fell to the ground in a heap, as Hermione turned to the first Eater, who was desperately reaching for his wand.

"_Stupefy,_" she whispered, flicking her wand an extra time to allow his limp form to fall to the earth. A voice bellowed from her left, causing a reflexive duck. Hermione was never so happy that Ron had never taken out the trash bins - they provided excellent cover from the Reductor Curse thrown her way.

--------------------

Harry stunned his third Death Eater as he approached the village square, knowing he would have to get through it as quick as possible. There was no way around it - he'd have to run out in the open for a good five to ten seconds. He'd avoided detection so far, even as the sounds of battle issued behind him, but he knew this wouldn't last for long. The Professors from the school seemed to be arriving, but that would be far from enough. Not for the first time, Harry wondered where all of the black-robed figures came from; either Voldemort had been holding a reserve army, or there were more than a few wizards under the Imperius Curse tonight.

_Damnit...and the Aurors are going to be looking to kill..._

This was going to get very messy, very quickly. He had to get to Hermione and Ron, be sure Ginny and Rebecca were safe inside, and then fight his way back to the square. With any luck, he, Ron, and Hermione would be able to pinch the Death Eaters between them and the Hogwarts staff, pinning them in the middle of the city and forcing them into the square.

_Where are those Aurors?_

They should have been all over the city by now, helping purge the streets and hopefully getting the villagers out of the line of fire. It was never a good thing to have panicked townspeople running between all of the Death Eaters; someone was going to get hit with a stray spell, and there was no doubt someone else would have to atone for it.

"_Stupefy!_"

The spell came out of nowhere, and Harry got a shield up just in time to block it. _Bloody alleys...they're going to get me killed._ Harry ducked away from the side passageway, but not before registering only one cloaked figure assailing him.

He waited patiently, a virtue not many Death Eaters had, and apparently this one was no different. Harry watched carefully as the young man (did they really come that young?) poked his head out, then stepped into the street. He showed no mercy in his stunner, blasting them man off his feet and into a produce cart parked on the side of the road and forgotten. A quick bind with magical chains and Harry continued through he shadows, consulting the now memorized map of the city in his head.

His eyes checked the sky again as he stood on the edge of the square. Good, no mark yet. He took a breath and scanned the square, but it appeared the fighting hadn't reached it yet. The Death Eaters were still working their way around the outskirts, probably doing the same thing that Harry planned to do to them - forcing their prey into the center where they could be locked down and controlled. There was a small crowd of people around the large stone fountain in the middle, guarded by three Eaters with their wands hanging loosely by their sides. Harry saw one of the Eaters relieve a young woman of her wand and slide it inside of his robes, giving the girl a lust-filled look. A soft rage built inside of Harry's chest.

_Okay, now or never._ He dashed into the square, yelling "_Stupefy!_" three times in rapid succession, finding that two of them hit their targets.

_Damnit!_ Harry cursed himself for letting his edge slip even as the third Death Eater turned towards him, whipping his wand up.

"_Supplanto!_"

Harry tripped unavoidably, but he rolled and shouted a shield charm to absorb the binding spell that followed the trip jinx.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

The Death Eater's wand flew a good fifteen feet as he was blasted back into the fountain, Harry checking only once to be sure his aim was true before dashing out of the square. He didn't know for sure, but he might have just killed his opponent with a blow to the head from the fountain. Quickly, his mind suppressed the emotions of battle as he disappeared into the shadows once again.

--------------------

She was pinned, and only her enchantments held the trash bins together as more hexes flew into and over them, forcing her head down. She knew Ron was busy with the Eaters in front and had no idea what had happened to her. She would have to work her way out of this alone.

_Come on, Weasley, think! _Her duel with Harry came back to mind, wondering if she could ever hope to attain the level of skill he had. Then it hit her. She didn't have to match him, but she could pull a leaf out of his book. Another Reductor curse flew into her cover, threatening to destroy it at any moment. She took a breath, then readied three words in her mind.

"_Amando!_" Her voice was a forceful whisper, driving the bins toward her assailants, casting the next spell non-verbally and praying.

A low ring echoed in her ears as the large metal shield vibrated in front of her, effectively covering her entire crouched body. It was nothing as ornate or as beautiful as Harry's had been, but it worked and it protected her. Giving herself a silent pat on the back, she quickly laced the shield with enchantments, only to find a second set of spells beginning to fly out the back window and pin her Death Eaters down once again.

_Ginny...Harry is going to kill me..._But she couldn't think of the redhead right now - she had to take advantage of her position. Moving the shield in front of her, she half walked, half squatted toward the Death Eaters, throwing a stunner around the side of the metal and hoping she could catch something. Judging by the sounds, no luck, though she heard a sickening grunt as one of Ginny's hexes connected, then the sound of retching came from the pinned Eaters. Hermione noted never to challenge her sister-in-law to a duel.

In the face of an extra wand the Death Eaters retreated, so Ron joined his wife as she vanished the shield and slipped behind a portion of wall. The fields in front their house were quite large; the Death Eaters could be anywhere if they knew Disillusionment Charms.

"So what do we do now?" Ginny asked, joining her brother.

Hermione turned on her with blazing brown eyes. "You are going to stay here with Rebecca. She's shouldn't be using magic, and she's your responsibility."

Rebecca chose that moment to join the conversation, receiving ghastly looks from both Ron and Hermione. "I was a part of Professor Potter's Advanced Defense class - I know I can help." She didn't feel nearly as confident as she looked, but she didn't want to be the weak link in the chain.

"Rebecca, if there weren't other circumstances, I would agree with you, but we have more than just you to worry about here..." Hermione gave her a sad look as a sky blue jinx flew past them. The Death Eaters were starting to get confident again.

Fortunately, the Ravenclaw seemed to agree with Hermione on an intellectual level. "Fine, I'll stay here. But I don't need Healer Weasley to stay with me. I'll be fine." She'd seen first hand the wards on the house, and Harry had assured her before coming that he'd placed them himself. Ginny was looking victorious until Ron cut in quickly.

"I want you both back inside, now. We don't have much longer until they come up. Ginny, stay with Rebecca."

The redhead glared daggers at her brother, but didn't offer any argument. He should have known that wasn't a good thing, but another curse hit the side of the house and distracted him. "Go!"

The two snuck back into the house with Ginny muttering under her breath. Hermione turned to her husband, giving him a thankful look. "What now?"

Ron thought for a moment. "Harry's going to be showing up here soon, so we need to clear out those Eaters so he doesn't walk into a trap."

Hermione nodded, a plan already sketching itself in her head, and she knew Ron would have roughly the same idea. War was oddly organized, and it hadn't taken the Golden Trio long to form plans without taking the time to discuss them.

"On three?"

Hermione nodded.

"Three!"

--------------------

The path up to the Weasley residence was small and winding, though Harry had no problems navigating it as he saw a barrage of multi-colored spells come from the house. His heart warmed - they were still there and very much alive. He saw the Death Eaters when they moved to take cover, though they disappeared again under the cover of Disillusionment Charms. Harry cursed. They just had to make this difficult.

He disillusioned his own body as he moved into the fields, careful to move slow enough to allow the charm time to catch up. At this rate, it would take ages to reach the grouping of Eaters taking cover from Ron and Hermione behind a small hill (assuming they didn't move and he didn't lose them), but Harry smiled grimly as a lucky hex caught a Death Eater in the face. The blood on the grass didn't even give him pause as he saw the familiar red hair duck back into cover, glad to see it was short. At least Ginny hadn't joined the fight yet. They didn't have enough time to come out again before Harry was practically on top of the Eaters, bracing his mind for what he was about to do.

"_Flagrate!_" Harry shouted, putting an unusual amount of power behind the spell as he dragged a long sweeping motion in front of him. A line of fire issued from the tip of his wand, lashing out like a whip and searing the air in front of him. The Eaters never saw it coming - their screams met the night with a piercing blast, forcing them to drop their wands and render themselves defenseless. Harry was quick to summon magical chains to bind them together, Their wands were summoned by his and placed in his robes, another flick sending a red and gold streamer into his friends' hiding place as he released the disillusionment.

"Thank Merlin, Harry!" Hermione ran up and kissed his cheek after checking to make sure no more Death Eaters were around for the moment. Harry had already dispatched the backup group. Ron nodded at him, his wand out and constantly searching for more black cloaks.

"Where are Ginny and Rebecca?"

Hermione looked back toward their home, which was completely untouched, though there was an incredible amount of debris both on and around it. "Inside. We forced Ginny to stay with Rebecca."

Harry didn't believe that would keep her there one bit, but he didn't have much choice in the matter. He couldn't afford to argue it out now. He spotted Ginny's redhead through the window, but he didn't give any notice of her presence other than a complicated flick of the wand in the direction of the house. Hermione jumped as the wards flared up black before settling back down, almost reluctantly. "Sorry, just making sure the wards are all right. They'll be safe there." She nodded and let him continue. "McGonagall has got the Professors pushing from the other side of the city. If we hurry we can pinch them into the square, and they'll be all wrapped up by the time the Aurors get here."

Hermione threw him a glance. "Aurors are coming?"

Harry looked completely confused. "What did you think the Ministry was going to do, leave us alone?"

Hermione shook her head. "They would be here by now...unless..." Her mind went to work as Ron scouted ahead. "Harry, did you ever get a letter back from the Ministry?"

A lightbulb went of in his head, remembering something he hadn't had the opportunity to tell her. "Yes, and they've authorized the use of Unforgivables on Death Eaters, but I know there are some Imperiused wizards under those cloaks."

Hermione's face went pale. "Harry, they're using this as a trap. I would bet my library that there are Aurors in the city, capturing Death Eaters and taking them quietly away while we fight it out. They don't want to see the trap, so they're going to leave us to it until we break, and then they'll take over."

Harry cursed violently for the second time that night, and Hermione didn't even correct him. "We've got to hurry. They're rounding up prisoners in the square, but I don't know why yet. I don't even know why they're here."

Hermione apparently didn't either. Ron hurried back to them with an urgent look on his face. "As fun as it sounds, we haven't the time for a cup of tea."

His wife gave him severe look, but the three moved silently toward the village.

--------------------

Harry was right about one thing; Ginny wasn't going to stay put. She felt a deathly chill as the wards flared, like something was invading her system. She had no clue what caused the feeling, but there was a feeling she hated, and that was being trapped and held back from the fight. As soon as she saw the trio leave, she turned to Rebecca with a fierce glint in her eye.

"You want to come?"

Apparently the idea of ignoring orders hadn't come to the Ravenclaw, and from the look on her face, it wouldn't have if Ginny hadn't said anything. "Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure? Didn't you hear what they said? The Aurors aren't coming! They're going to need all the help they can get!"

Rebecca bit her lip, but Harry's Defense classes came back to her. He'd always said that magic was nothing if you were afraid to use it to protect both yourself and your friends and family. Her resolve hardened, shoving her maternal instincts aside and gripping her wand tightly.

"I'm with you."

Ginny smiled grimly and led the way out the front door, creeping along to make sure there weren't any straggling Death Eaters. The two made followed the trio's path, passing immobile and chained bodies as they made their way toward the square. Twice they had to step back and conceal themselves in a side alley to avoid Ron spotting them from his position at rear guard, but eventually even they could see the war going on.

It was a truly amazing sight, sans the destruction and death it brought. The trio immediately jumped into the fight, catching the Death Eaters unaware and stunning five of the perhaps thirty wizards around the fountain. The Hogwarts staff on the other side wasn't throwing spells at the main cluster of Eaters for fear of hitting the innocent villagers, but the trio had perfect accuracy. Ginny and Rebecca searched the outskirts of the square, ducking behind a half-wall as a voice bellowed out a stunner from down the alley.

Ginny gave one look at Rebecca to make sure she was okay, then let her experience at the Department of Mysteries and Hogwarts during her fourth and fifth year take over. She'd seen three figures just before the stunner came, though she hadn't gotten a perfect look before she'd had to duck. Praying that she was correct, Ginny rolled out into the alley, her wand pointing down range and quickly locking onto one of the three targets.

"_Incendio!_"

Regardless of the disaster of Ron and Harry's duel, Ginny had learned quite a few things, including how to burn a Death Eater alive. It didn't matter that her spell had less than perfect aim - the cloak quickly lit up in flame and obscured the vision of the other two.

"_Stupefy!_" Rebecca's voice came from behind the half wall, her wand shaking like mad as she pointed it at a second Death Eater, who blocked it and laughed harshly. The third cast an Extinguishing Charm on the first, but it was quite late - the first went down in a heap, no longer able to hold his half burned out wand. Ginny knew she had to do something, anything, otherwise Rebecca wouldn't survive another three seconds.

"_Engorgio!_" Her wand turned on a crate between two remaining Death Eaters and herself, blowing it up to block the alleyway and buy time for Rebecca to recover from the shock of battle and duck back behind the half-wall.

_BANG!_ The crate splintered into a thousand pieces, causing Ginny to shield her eyes with her arm, but she was ready with a counter attack.

"_Flagrate!_" Her wand drew a line of fire across her vision, and while not near as powerful as where the idea had come from, it did its job. Both Eaters howled in pain as Ginny stunned one, and a very shaky Rebecca missed the other one. Ginny dove out of the way of the expected retaliation, but none came. The alley had gone silent, and it was a good two minutes before either witch would peek out from behind the half-wall, only to be met with the sound of weeping.

Rebecca stared at Ginny in immense confusion, but the redhead knew exactly what had happened. The Imperius...her father had talked to her about it. Her burning spell had broken the Curse with extreme pain. A harsh pang of guilt and anger hit her heart, but unlike Harry, she couldn't push it away. She stared at the black-cloaked figure, wondering what she had done, wondering if that Eater she'd incinerated was really a Death Eater at all.

A muffled bang from the square brought her back to earth, forcing her to tear her eyes away from the scene. She half ran down the alley and back toward where she'd last seen the trio, needing to get to Harry regardless of how much he yelled at her. She needed his protection, the exact same protection she'd been denying all day.

Rebecca followed behind her, not even daring to look at the scene. Ginny Weasley had just taken down three Death Eaters with hardly a scratch on her; many might look up to Harry Potter as a powerful wizard, but his girl wasn't anyone to start a fight with. The Ravenclaw earned a new respect for her at that moment, even trusting her protection enough to curl up behind her as they hovered in the shadows of the buildings lining the square.

--------------------

Harry knew the purpose of the attack. It was him. As soon as he appeared in the square, a call went up among the Death Eaters, most of whom turned their wands on him. He'd had to conjure his massive silver shield to take the brunt of the attack, watching it crumble and melt under the pressure. Ron and Hermione slipped into practiced action, running ahead of him and casting shield charms to clear the way to safety behind a stone sculpture, which Hermione was already enchanting to repel magic. As they ran, Hermione's shield gave out, a cutting spell gashing Ron's leg and causing him to half stumble, half fall into Hermione's arms behind the sculpture.

The three hid behind the massive stone carving, tossing out the occasional low-powered stunner to keep most of the Eaters at bay. They seemed to turn back to the battle with the professors, though there were still enough wands on their position to make popping out a dangerous proposition. Hermione immediately pulled Ron's robes out of the way and set her wand to the cut on Ron's leg, muttering under her breath as she drew a line up his calf and thigh, attempting to seal the wound. Unfortunately, it was being stubborn and refusing to close or stop bleeding. Ron winced in pain as the three looked at each other, at a loss for what to do until a flash of red caught Harry's eye.

"No..." The word was breathed, but there was anguish all over it. Ron and Hermione turned to look, then let out equally disbelieving breaths, Ron following with some choice profanity.

_What are you doing Ginny?_

There was little chance that the redhead would find him - and even if she did, she'd have to stick her head out so far a Reductor Curse would probably remove it for her.

Another cry went up among the Death Eaters, and then a chorus of high, cold laughter resounded through the square. Harry watched through Hermione's conjured mirror as one of the Eaters stepped out from the circle, obviously spotting Ginny. Her red hair disappeared, but the Eater still pointed his wand at her former position.

"_Imperio._"

There was nothing rushed, nothing hurried about the incantation. Nothing seemed forced - the voice was so clear, in fact, that Harry recognized it immediately, and his blood ran cold. It was Avery, a man that eluded Harry more times than he'd ever want to remember.

_Ginny can fight the Imperius...can't she?_ He'd felt her power to resist his own curse so long ago, but it comforted him all the same. _She'll fight it, and she'll win._

But Harry was not prepared for what happened next. Ginny remained mercifully hidden, but the laughter of the Death Eaters rose as Avery beckoned. A figure stepped out from the side alley, looking oddly limp. Harry gasped and burned with anger as the figure's long, black hair and pale skin came into view. His calm, careful control snapped, and before Ron or Hermione could stop him, he leapt out into the fight.

"_Sectumsempra!_" Nothing was quiet or tame about this incantation. The full force of Harry's magic went behind it, ripping Avery's chest into three neat pieces.

--------------------

"No..." Ginny's whisper echoed Harry's own when Rebecca rose from her hiding place. The black-haired witch dropped her wand and walked slowly out of the alley. Ginny watched the complete control overtake Rebecca even as Harry's voice filled her consciousness. She crawled out from her hiding place and poked her head around the corner just in time to see what was left of Avery's body fall to the ground in a bloody heap. Movement behind the recently dead Death Eater caught her eye, and all Ginny could do was stare in horror as another dark figure, one standing on the edge of the fountain on a raised section of concrete roared the two fatal words even before her lips could part in warning.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

It had been a lure, plain and simple. The voice that bellowed the Killing Curse was even more sickeningly familiar than the first. Ginny couldn't help but let out a terrified scream, but it seemed as though Harry felt it all along. He moved with that unexplainable speed that he'd shown in his duel with Ron and Hermione, diving away from the jet of green light.

Rebecca seemed to come alive, looking around her with alarm before she realized what happened. She turned and ran, barely ducking under a Severing Charm aimed at her head before she reached the protection of Ginny's shield spell. Lucius's silky voice was the next sound that reached her ears.

"Mr. Potter, you cannot hide forever."

Ginny saw the Death Eaters creeping toward her position as she melted farther into the shadows. She prayed Harry knew she was there, that he wouldn't let them have her.

"Lucius, leave Ginny alone. As long as she has her life, you will have yours."

The head Death Eater laughed. "Show yourself now, and we'll see what to do with the girl."

_No..._Ginny would have given anything to tell him to stay hidden, that Lucius was trying to draw him out into a pile of Death Eaters, but she couldn't. Harry did exactly what she thought he would. He stepped out into the wands of fifteen Death Eaters.

"Leave her out of this, Lucius. This is between you and me."

Ginny could practically hear the raised eyebrows on Malfoy's face. "Are you suggesting a duel, Mr. Potter?" He clearly seemed favorable to the idea - perhaps he thought his age and experience as well as Dark Magic would protect him.

"I'm not suggesting, Malfoy." Harry spat the name and glared at the Death Eater. "I'm challenging you."

In a way, the Gryffindor and the Slytherin were bound by the same honor, but it was so much different in every crucial way. Harry played Lucius like an instrument, pulling on his sense of pride and thirst for revenge, giving him an offer he couldn't resist. But being the a Slytherin meant he would not play fair.

"_Crucio!_"

Harry bolted out of the way, using a summoning spell to pull a piece of wreckage between him and Malfoy. The stone exploded, but the shower of debris left Harry unharmed.

"_Stupefy!"  
__  
"Protego!" _

The shield had to be brought up so quickly Malfoy didn't get a chance to reflect the spell back to it's caster, but it hit the wall not three feet from Ginny's head. She jumped back in surprise, but nothing could keep her eyes from the battle that was quickly being framed by a circle of hooded Death Eaters.

Harry's wand waved at Lucius in a non-verbal cast, but the blonde blocked it with a similar waving and stood his ground. Harry dropped into a crouch, studying his opponent that dared to stand in plain view, mocking him.

"What's the matter, Mr. Potter? Your third year spells not working for you anymore?" Lucius cackled, tossing another cutting curse at Harry, slicing through Harry's shield and putting a gash in his cloak. Ginny heard a grunt and knew it must have cut his chest.

"_Crucio!_"

Ginny heard Rebecca gasp from behind her, but her eyes were riveted on the writhing form of Lucius Malfoy. Harry had told her of Bellatrix, and of other Death Eaters, but it had never really sunk in that he was capable of such hatred. The war had really changed him, mutated his innocence into something twisted and dark.

"Not so confident now, are you Malfoy? Galleons can't buy you out of this one." Harry let up the curse to let his words sink in, but as soon as his mouth closed, he laid his wand down again, bringing forth the screams and groans of Lucius Malfoy once again.

"Harry, let it go!" Hermione's voice cut unexpectedly into the scene, jarring Harry's concentration.

Surprisingly, Harry raised his wand, but he didn't take his eyes off of Lucius. "I can't Hermione...he deserves it."

Ginny had never heard him so serious or deadly in her life, and it was slightly uncomfortable.

Hermione refused to give up; her voice had a slight pleading to it. "Harry, leave it in the past. He's going to Azkaban. You don't need to do this."

"How can-"

"_Extasis!_"

_Ginny's dead body lay spread-eagled before his eyes, a startling white with glowing red lines criss-crossing her usually stunning figure. Her hair was splayed behind her, her lifeless eyes starting up at him as if in shock. There was no doubt what had happened - he found her at the ruins of the school home, her back broken against a large boulder that must have come from the top of the tower. _

No...wait...this can't be true. Hogwarts is still standing.

_The blood was dried on her lips - she must have coughed it up. Her death couldn't have been quick or pleasant. Terror raced through his body, paralyzing his limbs and running his blood cold. _

She's not dead. She's hiding, waiting for me to come to her. She needs me.

_It felt like a dementor had kissed him. His soul was leaving his body, his life was being drained at the sight of her desiccated flesh. _

NO! This isn't real! Stop this!

Harry blinked, the scene flooding back into his consciousness. He was backed against the wall of a building while Lucius was climbing to his feet with his wand out. Malfoy's age was apparent, but Harry knew if he was given the chance to cast one more time he could be lethal.

"_Stupefy!_"

Unfortunately, Malfoy seemed to predict Harry's move.

"_Protego!_"

The next two casts came at the same moment, issuing from the two wands in a flash of brilliant light.

"_Diffindo!" _

_"Defixus!" _

The two spells hit at the same exact time, but Harry was off target. Lucius's arm was severed from his shoulder down, falling in a spurt of blood to the stone at his feet.

The other spell was dead on. It pierced Harry's midsection, putting a gaping hole right through his stomach and pinning him to the wall. Somewhere within the crowd of Death Eaters, a cry went up and green light bathed the square.

"_Morsmordre!_"

Ginny watched in horror as Harry's body slid down the wall, leaving a streak of crimson blood behind him. The Mark that was now hanging lazily in the clouded sky was of no importance to her; only the vile blond that suddenly filled her vision mattered.

Ginevra Weasley exploded. She exploded with rage, hatred, and a thousand other adjectives that she'd always felt for the Malfoy family, now overshadowed by complete loathing she could not begin to describe. Lucius had now done the truly unforgivable in her eyes. He had killed her lover, the man who meant everything to her, the man that made her whole. And he had laughed. He'd laughed that high, cold laugh that she'd only heard Harry speak of, the one she knew ravaged nearly all of his nightmares. She understood now what feelings it evoked. She knew exactly what she wanted as she stood and raised her wand at the blonde demon in the center of her vision. She wanted him dead.

"_Avada Kedavra._" There was no yell. There was no scream. The words were hardly louder than a whisper, and yet their white-hot rage could be felt by every soul within a hundred yards. An impossibly bright flash of green light and he was gone. Lucius Malfoy dropped like a brick into the water behind him, his head making a sickening crunch against the stone. Every eye turned to Ginny in complete and utter shock, but she couldn't have cared less; only one thing was on her mind at that moment. She crossed instantly to Harry's lifeless body, ignoring the _pops _of the Death Eaters' disapparitions, kneeling by his side as the tears fell from her cheeks.

"Harry...no...you can't leave me..." Her tears fell harder as her voice cracked. She could barely speak, let alone prepare her voice for a song, but she had to try anyway. Her wand was out in a flash as a soft Aria of Healing rolled off her lips, but his eyes rolled back into his head and he coughed up a disturbing amount of blood.

_Harry! _She was sobbing now, sobbing as she knelt in a small pool of his blood, though she felt as though she was drowning herself in it. Her mind raged as her voice continued to chant softly. _I need you...I can't live without you! Don't you understand? You can't leave me!_

She continued the song as her wand and his wound glowed blue, thoughts and memories flew through her head faster than she could ever comprehend, but one stuck, and stuck hard. _Oh...God...I didn't even tell him I loved him..._

That realization brought on an entire new wave of pain, one that ran up and down her without decreasing in intensity. She moaned and sobbed all at once, her pain covering the sounds of footsteps around her and the curses still flying above her head. Their last words had been words of anger, words that had been meant to win an argument, not ones of love.

No, wait. That wasn't true. Their last words were each other's names, calling them out after that lust-driven escapade, and she was sure that had been love. Lust-filled love, but their love all the same.

_You can't leave me! You said you wouldn't! You said you would always be here for me! You promised! _

No one came to her side, no one came to comfort her. She was glad. No one could understand. No one knew how she felt, no one knew how she would loose half of herself if he died, and how the other half would never be the same because it had nothing to love. She would have nothing left, nothing to live for. It was all pointless without him.

_Don't you see, Harry? You can't be dead, because I would be too! I would have died with you! I'm dead without you!_

Thought and time lost meaning for the young redhead. She felt eyes burning as she ran out of tears; she felt numb, hollow, and excruciating pain all at once. The arms that finally wrapped around her were almost out of her perception, but she couldn't muster the strength to stop them. Her expression was vacant, as if she could feel nothing around her, her memories and regrets ripping through her heart, her face painted in the sickly green glow of the Dark Mark.


	19. Healers and Hospitals

_Author's Note: Okay, so I finally got around to the LiveJournal thing, so if you want to keep up with me and have updates on how close I am to finishing chapters and such, hop over to my journal - the link is in my profile. If for some reason FF dot net is down and you want to read any of my work (I've back posted all of this story), I'll be posting chapters there as well._

_And don't you have a little faith in me? I wouldn't kill our hero...I'm a sucker for happy endings. _xP

_As always, thank you for reviewing...they warm my heart even as I'm working on an AP Psych project that keeps me from writing.

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_

_**Chapter 19: Hospitals and Healers**_

_Thump...Thump...Thump_

Every beat of her heart pumped an indescribable burn through her consciousness, flowing through her bloodstream and wracking destruction on her nerves. The body that lay in her arms was pale, lifeless, and unmoving.

But he wasn't dead. The Healers had said that he wouldn't live the night, but the body in her arms refused to die. It was the second day now, and he was still comatose, but he refused to die. She was happy for that, for even the slightest chance of life, but she was not happy about anything else. He needed to wake up. He needed to be there for her, to comfort her after such a tragedy, to tell her it would be all right. She would believe him. He could protect her.

Seconds drifted into minutes, his ragged breaths an antithesis to her shallow ones. Still, as long as that breathing came, she wouldn't break. She was twisted, battered, abused, bent, beaten, and frayed...but she was not broken. One thread held her together, one thread kept her from sinking into nothingness. He was alive, for the moment.

--------------------

"Mum, you know you can't help her. This isn't a scraped knee you can kiss and make better."

Molly glared at her son, the disbelief plain on her face. The two were standing in the living room of the Burrow, and though the Weasley matriarch was supposed to be sleeping (Healer's orders), she was attempting to floo back to the hospital. Currently, her oldest son was holding the Floo Powder hostage.

"I most certainly can!"

Bill shook his head, attempting to remain calm in the face of his mother's terror. He knew she wasn't really angry at him, but it seemed as real as it had when he was still a young wizard at Hogwarts.

"If Harry was Dad, could Ginny help you?"

That was low, lower than Bill realized because that had, in fact, been Arthur not so many years ago. The incident with the snake and the Department of Mysteries had slipped his mind. His mother's voice dropped to a deadly softness, one that the Weasley children had learned to be terrified of.

"Don't you ever..._ever_ let me hear you say something like that _ever _again." Her glare bored right into his skull, having lost none of its power as time passed. Bill faltered under that glare, suddenly unable to even look at her, but he still held the floo pot tightly in his hands.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to come up with a response because the aforementioned Arthur Weasley made his way a down to the stairs, looking sleepy. He had finally convinced his wife to leave Ginny and Harry under the care of the Healers at St. Mungo's, but judging by the situation. his wife hadn't wanted to be pacified so easily.

"Molly, dear, you can't do anything for Ginny if you don't get some sleep. She wouldn't be at all encouraged by her mother falling asleep on her feet."

She rounded on her husband, ready to spit fire, but the look on his face halted her. Under normal circumstances, the only Weasley able to stand her wrath was Ginny, but there was something about his tired eyes and his slightly pale skin that took the wind out of her sails. She had seen him like this before, when Ginny's hand on the clock had swung to "Mortal Peril" and they'd received word that she had been taken down into the Chamber of Secrets.

"I'm just fine, Arthur." But her voice didn't say what her words did. Both of the oldest male Weasleys shifted uncomfortably.

"Mum, it's all right. Both Ginny and Harry will be fine." Bill wrapped his mother in a comforting hug, feeling awkward but relaxing at the encouraging nod from his father. She obviously didn't believe him, but there was nothing she could do but wait. There were many things Molly Weasley was good at (including most things to do with her children, blood-related or not), but waiting while one of them was fatally wounded was not one of them.

--------------------

_BANG!_

A hole appeared in the wall where Ron's fist met it, but strangely, Hermione didn't so much as flinch. In fact, she looked at her husband with great sympathy and concern, her voice attempting to reassure him rather than scold him.

"Ron...he's going to be all right. Voldemort couldn't kill him - what makes you think Malfoy has a chance?"

Ron slowed his fist before he put another hole in the wall, but it was a near thing. He froze still for a moment, his knuckles turning while through force of will. "He had him, Hermione. Malfoy was going to pay for what he did to you, and now look what he's done to Harry."

Hermione bit her lip. This was her fault, and she knew it. If she hadn't distracted him, hadn't taken Harry's mind off the duel, Lucius wouldn't have stood a chance. Harry had already put the Cruciatus to him, and as inhumane as it was, it was legal. She had no reason to stop him.

"I'm sorry Ron...this is my fault." She plopped down on the couch, burying her head in her hands. Her husband turned toward her, disbelief etched on his face.

"What?"

She sniffed, feeling the tears sting her eyes once again. It seemed there would be no stopping them for the next few...years, if it came to that. "Ron, I distracted him. I didn't want him to stoop to their level, but I should have stayed quiet. It doesn't matter what Malfoy did to me, because it makes it even worse! I'm the reason Harry is dying!" Her voice rose at the end, her self-loathing evident.

Ron wouldn't have it. He sat on the couch next to her, wrapping a powerful arm around her shoulders and pulling her against his side. "This isn't your fault." He gritted his teeth, working off a bit of anger. "This is Malfoy's fault, and no one else's. Listen to me." He shook her not so gently. "This isn't your fault. You are not going to blame yourself for this. What he did to you, and what he did to Harry were his choices, not yours. You didn't make this happen."

She shook her head, attempting to wipe her eyes but failing miserably. For once, her logic was working against her - there was something that if she hadn't done, Harry would not have gotten hurt. "No...it is my fault. You don't understand."

"Hermione Granger Weasley, listen to me." His voice was hard and slightly angry, not unlike his mother's. Calling him by his full name had always worked during his childhood, and he hoped it would work in the other direction now. "Harry would be ashamed of you if he saw you right now."

That hit low and hard, striking something in the core of her heart. It felt like someone had hit a massive gong inside of her emotional storm. She broke out of his arm, turning on him with bloodshot eyes. "Ronald! How can you possibly _say_ something like that?!"

"Because it's true! What would he think if he walked in right now?"

He was right, and that's what angered her so much about it. Usually it was so easy to win arguments and not be angry with him because she was right, but the feeling was completely different when he wasn't being his usual daft self. She said nothing, just glaring at him and balling her fists, understanding the seemingly pointless need to destroy things. Between the two of them, things in the room started to rattle, breaking concentration from their feud.

"I..." She couldn't think of anything to say, so she launched into his arms and wrapped tightly around his midsection.

"It's all right...I promise." He felt as though he was back at Dumbledore's funeral, before they'd even come out with their love for each other. She was in his arms once again, with someone they loved dead or dying, and all they had was themselves.

--------------------

She still hadn't left the room. Two weeks straight and she hadn't left the room. Her father had a birthday, and she didn't leave the room. Not that Arthur had made a fuss about it; but she was his only daughter.

Her entire attention, her entire focus, her entire life was based around an inert form that lay under clean white sheets that nearly matched his skin. His wound had been healed long ago; having a nearly qualified healer on the scene healing him within seconds had kept the scarring to a minimum, even when most of the 'experts' had said he wouldn't live the night.

_He must have something very powerful keeping him here,_ they said, their eyes all resting on Ginny Weasley. But she didn't notice, because her eyes barely left his rising and falling chest. As long as he was still breathing, he would be all right. The Healers said he would wake when his body was ready, but Ginny wanted him now. She would take care of him. She would make sure he was okay, she would nurse him back to health if it was the last thing she did. But for that to happen, he had to wake up.

Her anger bouts were long gone; even the Healers who didn't know her were starting to not jump every time she made a move. Those first three days had been hell, when they still thought they had a chance of getting her to leave. A healer had come on the wrong end of a bat-bogey hex and an orderly had nearly had her head enlarged (though thankfully she was able to duck) before they'd just let her be. She wasn't a bother in any way - she let them do their work - but it wasn't healthy for someone to spend two weeks in hospital room while barely eating anything. It was a wonder she hadn't become a patient herself.

Mounds of cards were laid by his bed, stacking from the floor all the way up to Ginny's chest and held up by magic. It would have reminded Ginny of her childhood home, had she paid any attention. But she wasn't. She didn't even know the day was Valentine's Day, or that some of the cards sent to him were from prospective girlfriends attempting to draw him away from her upon his recovery. She would have been furious if she'd known.

The rest of the Weasley family (minus Charlie, who was in Romania) had gone out to lunch together, apparently for some family time, but Ginny knew better. They were talking about her, and how they could get her to come home and sleep in her own bed for once. She smiled bitterly, knowing that there were two conditions involving witch she would leave this room. One, with her hand in Harry's as they laughed about some joke he'd just told, or two, with his dead body as she escorted it all the way to the funeral.

She was so absorbed in thoughts of death that she missed the rustle of the sheets the first time. She looked up, but shook her head. Maybe she did need to get out, if she was hearing things. But there it was again. She bolted from her chair, her eyes wide as she crawled into his bed, hovering over him as her hair fell on either side of them. She knew she looked worse than he did, but she didn't care as she grasped his hands, pleading.

"Harry...please...say something."

Nothing. Not a flicker of the eye, not a squeeze of the hand. A tear fell from her eye, rolling down her cheek before gravity finally caught it and pulled it down to splash his cheek.

Then she felt it. It was light, like a feather but softer, but she felt it. A slight pressure against her hand, and an even slighter shift of the body under her.

"Gin..." His lips parted, his voice cracking in a thousand ways as he tried to speak. "Gin..." He couldn't even get her name out, much less anything else, but she didn't care. Her lips came down on his, kissing him fiercely and nearly forgetting his weakened state. It didn't matter that he couldn't return the kiss - just that he felt it, and that he knew she was there. No one else kissed him like she did.

"Miss Weasley!" A sharp voice came from the door, causing her head to snap around. Whoever had interrupted her private moment was going to pay.

"I'm quite allowed to kiss my boyfriend, you know." Her voice was stronger than it had been since she'd entered the room that first day. The sharp lashing of her tongue took the Healer by surprise, causing a gulp, but St. Mungo's Healers were not easily cowed.

"He...He's awake?" He sounded doubtful, as though it was the last thing he'd ever expected.

"Yes, he's bloody awake!" Ginny turned to kiss him again, and she thought she could see the faintest of smiles on his lips.

"Miss Weasley!" A different, stronger voice now. "Please find a seat, we need to examine Mr. Potter."

She turned again, looking the part of a lioness protecting her wounded mate, but she saw the sincerity in the Healer's eyes. A short battle was fought in her head, but in the end, her own training as a student Healer won over. She knew there were many things to do, and the faster they were done, the faster she could be with her lover.

It took ages for the Healers to get done with him, in which every soul but St. Mungo's staff and Ginny was barred from the room. The entire Weasley clan arrived within 10 minutes, as well as a few close friends such as Tonks, Neville, and Luna, but they were denied entrance. No one dared touch the redhead that sat in the corner as the Healers worked.

Finally, one of the Healers who had been poking and prodding Harry with his wand for the last thirty minutes, turned to Ginny and spoke softly. "If you can find some reasonable restraint, Miss Weasley, I think he would like to see you."

She flushed at his rebuke for her earlier display, but she stood and walked slowly over to the bed to stand by his head. The other Healer in the room took her leave, but one stayed and kept waving his wand over Harry and studying the pictures that appeared in the air above Harry's stomach.

"I love you," Ginny said as she gripped his hand. She'd meant to say it the moment he woke, but her mouth had been otherwise occupied. She was glad the Healers had given him water to wet his throat and a Strengthening potion, but his voice still came out raspy and strained.

"I know."

She smiled uncontrollably, warmth flooding through her system. "If you weren't already in the hospital, you would be after that comment."

He half coughed, half laughed, then winced as the Healer prodded him again. Ginny gave him a glare, then returned to Harry's (beautiful, gorgeous, living) face.

"Don't you ever do this to me ever again."

He moved his head slowly from side to side. "It's...not fun."

Her head bent down, her lips landing a gentle kiss on his cheek. His eyes followed her back up, bathing her in their emerald green brilliance.

"Is that...all?"

Her jaw dropped as the Healer gave his patient a funny look, but it was that comment that finally convinced her that he would be all right. Of course he would...he had to cause frustration and embarrassment in her life for another hundred years, at the least.

"Harry, I don't think Healer Miller would appreciate us snogging while he works."

She could have sworn his eyes rolled, but the smile that parted his lips never wavered. "How long was I out?"

Ginny bit her lip. "Two weeks."

Harry groaned, but he didn't make any further comment. In truth, he'd thought it had been much longer. "Any chance your Mum won't smother me in the next few hours?"

As much as she hated seeing him in a hospital bed, it sure did wonders for his humor. "I think she's getting ready to blast down the door right now."

The Healer apparently decided he'd seen enough, so he put his wand away and addressed Ginny. "Miss Weasley, I want no more than four visitors at a time, including you. You understand how important this is, especially with the condition of his heart."

She nodded. They'd told her much more than they probably should have, given her increasing medical background. She'd nearly passed out when she'd read through his file. "I agree."

He nodded curtly and left the room to go tell the crowd of redheads outside the rules. Ginny wondered which three would get to come in first, because she surely wasn't leaving. She'd almost gotten another word out to Harry when Ron, Hermione, and Tonks burst into the room. The apperance of the pink haired Auror surprised Ginny, but if she wasn't on assignment there wasn't anything that could keep her away.

"How are you feeling Harry?"

"You bloody idiot!"

"How many times have I told you to keep your eyes _on_ the enemy?"

It all came out in a rush, but Ginny noticed the overwhelmed look in her boyfriend's eyes. She pulled out her wand and waved it menacingly. "One at a time. He's still very weak and we don't need you lot giving him a heart attack."

All three stared at Ginny as if seeing her in a new light. Ron was the first to recover, giving her a dirty look. "Thanks, Mum." Ginny flushed, but she put her wand away and nodded at Hermione, who amazingly was closest.

"I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't mean to distract you."

Judging from Ron's groan, this had been an ongoing fight in their household. Ginny imagined their stubbornness making it far from pretty.

"Not...your fault." Harry blinked, his eyes pleading with his best friend. She squeezed the hand that Ginny wasn't holding, looking down at him with those affectionate brown eyes.

"You scared us all...we've been worried sick." The faces of everyone in the room showed it, especially Ginny's. Harry had been about to comment on it before he'd been bombarded with his visitors' questions.

He nodded slowly. "Sorry."

That was so typical of Harry that they all laughed, some of the tension easing at the sound of Harry's attempts. It was more of a hacking cough, but the mirth was plain in his eyes. He'd be all right. Hermione moved so Ron would be able to stand by his head.

"Bloody hell, mate. You're gonna need a stiff drink and an arse kicking when you get out to remind you not to do this again."

"_Ron!_"

Both boys ignored Hermione's warning as smiles curved their lips. Ginny privately agreed with her brother - Harry was due for about three arse kickings when he was released.

"You didn't...stop me."

Ron rolled his eyes. "I didn't think you were that thick. Must be my sister's influence."

Ginny glared at him, but Harry's cough cut off any hostilities. "Water..." He reached toward Ginny, who immediately put the cup into his hands. He drank a good bit before Tonks came to his side, her hands on her hips in a reproachful sort of way.

"Just because you killed the baddest wizard in the last half century, you go and get all big-headed and think you can take a Piercing Curse right to the gut. Not gonna cut it when you're married, lover-boy." She threw a knowing look at Ginny.

Luckily, the water seemed to have helped his throat and voice. "Yeah, she'd be..." He coughed. "...jumping in front of it." A meaningful look passed between him and Ginny, but no one else caught it.

Tonks laughed. "Right you are, Harry. Nice to know you've still got your head."

A light laugh sounded in the room before a knock sounded on the door. Mrs. Weasley's voice could be heard through the wood. "You lot hurry it up!"

Harry grimaced as the other four sent him sympathetic smiles. "Don't worry Harry, I'll protect you." Ginny grinned as she ruffled his hair. Ron shot his sister a probing look, but he left without a word.

The next three to come in were Bill, Arthur, and of course, Molly. Ginny caught her mother's eye the moment she walked into the room, a warning present in the younger Weasley, but it was really unnecessary. Bill and Arthur had already spoken to her in the hall, but even both didn't completely curtail her motherly nature.

"Oh, Harry dear!" She rushed over and wrapped him in a hug, but it wasn't as bone-crushing as he might have expected. Bill and Arthur wisely hung back as Molly looked her adopted son over, asking all sorts of questions before waiting for him to actually answer even one. She finally looked up at him expectantly, but Ginny spoke before he could.

"Mum, he's having a bit of trouble talking...I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you went one at a time." Harry gave his girlfriend a thankful look, then turned back to Molly.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley." His voice seemed to be getting better with use. "Honestly."

A huge smile graced the elder Weasley woman's face as she gave Harry another hug. "That's so good to hear." Bill chose that moment to walk and put a hand on his mother's shoulder, pulling her back a bit so he could talk to Harry.

"I thought you would owl me if you needed anything?" There was a faint twinkle in his eyes - he was still Bill, after all, and Bill was cool, if nothing else.

"Got out of it all right," Harry countered, and for the first time the hand that Ginny wasn't constantly grasping moved to his stomach. "Just missing a few things."

Bill laughed easily and patted his shoulder. "Just watch yourself, eh?"

Harry nodded as Bill made room for Arthur. "I'm so sorry Harry - I didn't know what the Aurors were up to until after the attack. It was kept hush-hush even in Ministry circles."

The black-haired wizard shook his head. "Don't worry...Hermione figured it out soon enough." He coughed again, earning himself identical looks from Ginny and Molly. He looked at both of them uncomfortably before Bill caught on and laughed.

"I don't think you're ever going to get out of that, brother."

It was amazing how much a simple word could warm Harry's heart. It wasn't anything like what Ginny gave him with her love, but to be called a brother by a Weasley was not something to be taken lightly. "Thanks Bill."

The redhead nodded and opened the door, giving his parents a look. "I guess we better let Fred and George in before they start snogging the nurses..." Molly threw a venomous glare at her son for that comment, but she didn't lose the chance to get one last word in to Harry.

"You stay in bed and listen to the Healers...don't do anything rash and stay out of trouble." She directed the last part at her daughter as well, who adopted an innocent look. They left and Harry braced himself as the twins came in looking uncharacteristically worried, but their concern evaporated when they saw him propped up on a pillow and looking rather well.

"Harry my friend, you really didn't need to leave your mark on Hogsmeade quite like that," Fred teased.

"I agree dear brother, there are certainly better ways to be remembered than a monument that reads 'Lord Potter's stomach lies here.'"

The look that Ginny gave her brothers was priceless; she had almost gotten her wand out when Harry squeezed her hand weakly.

"It's all right..." Harry looked as though he was straining at this point, causing worry to etch onto Ginny's forehead. "They're just angry it wasn't them."

Fred and George snickered, but they seemed to grasp what was going on in their sister's head. "Get your lazy arse out of bed soon, Potter, or we'll have to come drag you out ourselves."

"Quite right - I hear they put that old hag Umbridge back in the Defense job..."

Harry's look of horror served as the twins humor as they were chased out of the room by their sister, who shut the door and locked it magically, sighing as she crawled back in bed next to her boyfriend.

"Don't talk...just rest. We'll have plenty of time for that later. I just want to be with you." She wrapped her arms around him, snuggling into his side and laying a soft kiss on his cheek. He grunted and turned on his side, much to Ginny's alarm, but he made it without too much effort. She wrapped around him like a second blanket, burying her nose in his neck as they both sighed contentedly.

--------------------

Ginny awoke some time later, feeling well-rested for the first time since the attack. Nothing had changed since the moment they'd fallen asleep; Harry was still in a slight slumber, and they were wrapped impossibly around each other like you might expect a bride and groom to be on the morning after their wedding. She didn't dare move for fear of waking him, but she did incline her head to look up into his face and take in the peace that seemed to linger there. She had no idea how he could be so peaceful after what he'd been through, but she could ask him later.

"Mmmm..."

_So much for that,_ Ginny thought. She brushed her lips against his, waiting for his eyes to flutter open and fix her with that adorable gaze.

"How are you feeling?"

His eyes traced across her face, taking in the faint circles around her eyes and the more than slightly strained expression. "You looked like hell this morning."

She giggled quietly, snuggling her cheek into his chest. That was the best answer he could have given her; Harry always worried about her before anything else. "It's your fault."

He didn't argue that, instead running his hands over her back and kissing the top of her head. In truth, he wasn't feeling as well as he tried to present to her - it would have been hard for him to get out of bed, much less walk anywhere given his current strength, but the small movements of affection were nothing taxing and his voice was coming back to normal.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my love."

She pulled back in shock, staring into his smiling green eyes. "Who are you and what have you done with my Harry?"

He psuedo-pouted, his lower lip sticking out at her. "What, I'm not allowed to be romantic to the love of my life on Valentine's Day?"

Besides the fact that he shouldn't know what day it was, no, he wasn't allowed to be romantic. It just wasn't...him. "Harry, I love you, but you don't have one romantic bone in your body. You never say things like that." As if to seal it, she snorted in a very un-lady like manner.

Harry, however, looked troubled. "I should..."

Her finger pressed to his lips, shushing him. "No, you shouldn't. You know I wouldn't like it. You show me every day that you love me - Valentine's Day is for people who don't know how to show it in the first place."

His eyes probed her face once again, as if looking for a reason to contradict her, but he found none. She was always honest to a fault with him, and now shouldn't be any different.

"You never left the room, did you?"

She bit her lip and once again buried her forehead into his chest, squeezing him with her arms. Her voice was muffled as her lips were nearly against his shirt. "Don't be angry?"

It did irritate him a slight bit, but he couldn't be angry with her. Not now. "Ginny...I'm not angry at you. It's nice having someone who...cares like that."

Her head turned to make her voice more audible, but her ear pressed against his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. It was like music to her. "Do you remember what you called me when you woke up?"

The hand that had been running through her frazzled hair paused, signaling a moment of thought. "I tried to say your name, but I couldn't."

She shook her head and rubbed her cheek against his chest. It was an odd feeling against his hospital gown, but she didn't mind. "You called me Gin." Well, it was more like that's all he got out, but she didn't care. She loved the sound of that name.

"Do you...like it?"

Ginny nodded again, this time pulling her head up to confirm her voice with her eyes. "I love it...I don't know why more people don't call me by it."

Harry kicked himself for not figuring this out earlier. They'd been dating over half a year now and there were a lot of things he still didn't know about her, like what she wanted to be called. "Because it's my special name for you now?"

She laughed, tossing her hair and pushing him over so she could crawl on top of him. "Harry, if you start using it, everyone else will. Don't you think you should pick something a little more...personal?" Her eyebrow arched suggestively in a look he couldn't refuse had someone put him under the Imperius Curse.

"Hmm...I don't know." He thought back to the Marauders and where they'd gotten their names. Ginny was certainly not an animagus or a werewolf, but there had to be something unique about her that he could use. His eyes drifted over her body (which was sitting up on hips at the moment, well below his wound), thinking back into every memory he had with her. "I guess I could always call you a tease."

He snickered at the look of horror on her face. "Harry Potter, if you weren't in a hospital bed I would hex you into tomorrow."

His hands reached for her stomach, pressing flat against it as his eyes locked into hers. "I don't know Gin, I like you no matter what I call you."

She leaned into his hands a bit, thinking a moment on how close she'd come to never being able to feel those hands again. A few inches either way...

"Whatever you say, hero-boy." Her eyes carefully watched his to detect any sort of recoil, but there was none. In fact, there seemed to be a slight mirth behind the sparkling green.

"If I'm the Boy Who Lived, then you must be the Girl He Shagged."

Ginny snorted. "I better be the Only Girl He Shagged."

Harry stuck his tongue out and grinned. "You know, that Healer was pretty cute..."

She cut him off with a hard kiss, her hands sliding up into his hair and gripping tightly, her tongue running along his upper lip. "Don't you dare tease me about that." Her voice was low and menacing, but Harry breathed easily. He had toed the line, but if she was still scratching the back of his head like that with her wonderful, completely amazing nails, she couldn't be too angry.

--------------------

"Gin...what happened after...after Malfoy cursed me?"

It was just after breakfast, which Ginny ate with Harry in his bed. The Healers had objected to the redhead climbing all over their patient and generally doing as she pleased, but Harry had said it didn't bother him, and that there was no pain at all. It wasn't exactly true, but it was close enough. There were some benefits to being Harry Potter's girlfriend - people were generally a lot more lax with the rules after a gentle suggestion from The Chosen One. It helped that they'd (they, meaning Harry) finally convinced her to go home and take a shower in her own bathroom, putting back on her own clean clothes and arriving looking like a different woman.

But Ginny wasn't happy to be herself right this moment. She'd been waiting for this question since his eyes had first fluttered open, but she wasn't any more ready now than she was then. There wasn't much she could say, other than the cold hard truth.

"Harry...can we wait to talk about this until after you get out?"

Neither of them knew when that might be; the Healers just said 'When he's ready.' Ginny had reasoned that it should be shorter because of her Healer's training and she could take care of him, but there was no sign of that being the case.

"No...it's been bugging me since I woke up. I don't even know if my spell hit Malfoy."

Ginny shivered at the memory that played through her head. "I really think this would be better if we got your Pensieve."

That earned her a sharp look and a disapproving frown. "Gin, I want to hear it from you." He hadn't had any idea that it would be hard for her to talk about, but now that he did, he knew he couldn't back down from her. She had to deal with what happened sooner or later.

"I killed him."

It was only three words, but to Harry's mind it might have been in an obscure form of Chinese. He blinked, unable to comprehend what he heard. "What?"

"I killed him," she repeated, sitting up and pulling away from him. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor, wrapping her arms around herself. "I used _Avada Kedavra._ I killed him."

At least _she _wasn't having trouble with the acceptance part, but Harry was. Something about her place in his life blinded him to the hatred that she could feel. While he knew she had a short fuse, she'd never been irreparably angry with anyone he knew, and certainly not angry enough with anything to fuel the magic behind an Unforgivable Curse.

He was silent after that sunk in, thoughts of his own first use of the Killing Curse coming to his mind. It was on a nameless Death Eater on the way to rescue Hermione from the clutches of Lucius Malfoy; he'd been angry then, apparently even angrier than Ron had been. Of course, being a wizard his entire life might have put a harder curb on his use of the Unforgivables, but it didn't change how Harry had felt afterward. If anything, Ron's restraint made it worse.

"Gin, I know how you're feeling." His fingers stretched to brush her side and get her attention, but she didn't move. "You're not going to Azkaban, and no one will look at you any differently just because you killed that bastard."

She turned on him, a fire blazing in her eyes. "I don't care what everyone else thinks! I'm a _murderer!_"

Harry tried a completely different tack. "But you're still my murderer, and pulling away from me isn't going to help."

She stared at him with open disbelief, the anger draining off her face almost instantly. She'd expected him to say no she wasn't, that it was Malfoy and it was okay, and that she didn't have to worry about getting in trouble, but none of that mattered to her - not when she couldn't even look at herself in the mirror. But he hadn't. He hadn't even denied the fact that she had murdered Lucius Malfoy, let alone tried to tell her it was okay. He'd accepted it and asked her to come back to him, to not shut him out even knowing what she was.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "How can you say that? How can you even think about being with me when I've murdered someone?"

His body shifted so his fingertips could pull at her shirt rather insistently. She sighed and laid down next to him, keeping her arms bent vertically over her chest between them but letting his arm curl about her shoulders.

"Did you ever stop to think that I've killed people too? That you're not the only person that's use the Killing Curse before?"

She shook her head, rubbing her nose into his shoulder. "That's different. You had to kill Tom."

Harry moved his other arm over to have a fingertip stroke her cheek. "I killed Death Eaters that I didn't have to, you know that. You're still in love with me, aren't you?"

She gave him a look that held her answer plainly, but she felt the need to say it anyway. "If you ever question that I love you, you're going to get a good arse kicking from me _and_ my brothers."

Harry smiled. That was so Ginny. "Then what makes you think I wouldn't want you now? I'm surprised that you could use the Curse, but I know what it's like. I don't look down on you because you wanted him dead."

She sighed softly, still refusing to embrace him, but he could feel her shoulders relax noticably. "I just got so...angry after what he did to you. I wanted him to die..." She broke down at that last part, burying her face in her hands and a small tear running down her cheek. She curled into the only source of comfort as he wrapped his other arm around her and shielded her from the world with his body.

"I know you did...I wanted him dead too, after what he did to Hermione."

She looked up at him with slightly red eyes. "What did he do?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "That's for her to tell you if she wants. I shouldn't have even mentioned it."

He didn't know if it was even possible, but her gaze weakened even more and made him feel worse. "Harry...please...tell me. I want to know what I did was right, and I don't want to ask Hermione. I don't feel comfortable doing that."

A war raged in Harry's mind. On one end, he was screaming to tell her, that he trusted her not to say anything, and that he couldn't keep anything from her if she asked. The other end was remembering his oath to his best friend, whom he'd given his word that her secret would remain inside the trio.

"I...I can't talk about it before talking to her." Ginny's face planted in her hands again, and he could feel the tension in her shoulders return. "But I can tell you that it was something Ron and Hermione had to work out before they could be completely together."

Ginny gasped, the shock returning to her eyes again. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but she also knew it was his way of telling her without breaking his word (too badly) to Hermione. Certainly if she had been abused like that, she wouldn't want _anyone_ to know, especially one of her best friends. It almost went back to her situation with Tom and the Diary.

"I...No..." Ginny suddenly wrapped her arms around his chest, squeezing tighter than he ever remembered. "I'm such a horrible person!"

_What? How could she get that from what I said?_ "Gin, no you're not. I love you."

"I am! What kind of person is happy that someone else is dead?!"

"One that cares about her friends."

Hermione gave him this little speech once she'd figured out what was wrong with him after her rescue. He'd been quiet and reclusive (even more so than usual), and he hadn't been able to look either her or Ron in the eye since they'd pulled her out of the Malfoy summer home. Being the bright witch she was, she sussed out the problem and gave him a verbal beating until he'd snapped out of it.

Ginny didn't have a response for him. She simply stared at the wall, thinking things over but not really getting anywhere, for the first time in weeks not concentrating on the steady rise and fall of his chest even though her ear was right against it. She knew somewhere deep down that he was right, but she couldn't let him be, not yet. The Killing Curse was Unforgivable for a reason; she had to be punished for it somehow.

"You promise you won't leave me?"

Harry smiled and ran a hand through her hair. "Gin, I wouldn't leave you if you used the Killing Curse on me. I'd come back as a ghost and snog you until you came to your senses."

She sniffed, but his humor did help slightly. In the Weasley household, humor was a standard she could latch onto, something familiar that helped with the tragedy around her.

"I don't know what happened after that...I just remember waking up in the hospital and driving the Healers mad because they wouldn't let me see you." A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips.

"I can only imagine."

--------------------

Harry had never felt so swamped in his life. The Weasleys had managed to get him out of St. Mungo's a couple days later (after his strength returned) without having to deal with the press (though not for lack of trying on their part). He'd gone to the Burrow to be fed by Molly Weasley for a few days (she'd insisted, and not even Ginny was able to deter her), and from there he'd Flooed back to the school. Ginny was given his file and was under orders to make him get as much rest as possible and make sure he took his potions, but other than feeling a bit like he was old and sporting a circular scar just above his belly button, Harry Potter was back to prime condition.

But the students (and quite honestly, some of the faculty) were a little too overjoyed to see him. He kept getting welcomed back at every corner, and Gryffindor Tower had even thrown a party in their favorite Professor's honor. Apparently Hermione had been able to cover his classes and stick to the lesson plans quite well in his absence, but her strictness wasn't something any of the students were overly fond of.

In any case, he made it through lessons that Monday and Tuesday, though Rebecca hadn't been able to show up due to medical issues. The baby was getting closer and closer and it was getting harder and harder for even a Ravenclaw to justify continuing with classes as normal. It left him a free Monday night, which he happily spent with Ginny assuring her that he was healthy enough to persue something very much more than heavy snogging. She'd been very happy about that.

In any case, Harry's biggest shock came from his first Advanced Defense Class, which was made up of Ravenclaws and Slytherins on that Tuesday afternoon. The class was pretty much normal (he tried to keep everything away from his recent experience, but nothing seemed to work), until near the end when a seventh-year Slytherin asked a question.

"Professor, are we still having the Dueling Tournament at the end of the year?"

He'd completely forgotten about it, and though he stiffened in shock, one glance at all the hopeful faces sealed the deal.

"I don't see why we couldn't, unless the Headmistress has said something...?"

The boy shook his head vigorously as smiles broke out all over the group. Harry made a mental note to get together with Flitwick on that. "Er...well then, I guess I'll need to get the names of people who want to participate, eh?" He waved his wand an conjured a rather long scroll from his office and put a Hover Charm on it to keep it hanging in the air.

"If you're interested in dueling in the tournament, put your name, year, and house on this scroll as you leave." He waved his wand again to dismiss them, even as a small smile worked its way onto his lips.

_This is going to be fun._


	20. Birth

_**A/N: **Kind of a short filler chapter, but I promise the next two will make up for it. We've still got the dueling tournament to go (if anyone has any amazing spell ideas, let me know – I might use them), and of course, Harry himself points out the last thing at the end of this chapter. :D_

_I'm almost positive this is going to end with 22 chapters and an epilogue, but don't quote me on that. My muse has been known to ambush me at times, so you never know.

* * *

_

_**Chapter Twenty: Birth**_

Being back at Hogwarts didn't necessarily make things easier on Harry. If anything, Ginny was stricter than the Healers at St. Mungo's had been, and she had a sneaky way of making him listen when no one else could. Of course, she also had a sneaky way of bending the rules to her advantage, but Harry had only pointed this out once; Ginny had refused to even so much as kiss his cheek for the rest of the day.

Things were (mostly) perfect for the young couple, though they still had two completely different worries on their minds. Harry was absorbed by the upcoming tournament (it was a lot more work than he'd expected to organize), while Ginny was consumed by the task of helping Rebecca through her pregnancy. Both Potter and the youngest Weasley also had to make time for Ron and Hermione, who insisted on having them down for dinner more times than was strictly necessary, and especially on Monday nights. Rebecca had let slip once to Hermione that she missed talking to her Defense Professor, and that was that. Harry supposed he should have been happy that he'd been able to have that kind of effect on someone's life, but getting too close to his students was something frowned upon for many good reasons.

Over the next several weeks and as the edge wore off of winter, Harry's injury became less and less a point of focus in their lives, but it never entirely vanished. There were times he would suddenly feel a dull pain in his stomach, one that even the venerable Madam Pomfrey couldn't figure out the cause of. She'd put it down to phantom pains and told Harry that he might have to live with it the rest of his life, and that it served him right for not learning to keep himself healthy. Ginny had agreed with the old matron on that count.

For all of the work and frustrations that the dueling tournament caused, the Golden Quartet (Ginny had made jokes about the name, and seeing the underlying insecurity, Harry hadn't said anything) were having a blast. Ron and Hermione had happily agreed to serve as moderators to some of the matches, which were well attended by the houses that were involved. Harry quickly realized that the matches for the House Championships were going to have to be held in the Quidditch Pitch, and that they'd have to keep extra wands on hand to take control of the situation should it get out of hand. He'd thought that the tournament would be popular, but he'd never thought it would rival Quidditch.

Another thing that baffled Harry was the ever-present Tonks. Ever since the battle at Hogsmeade, the spunky Auror had been showing up at Ron and Hermione's place on her off days and Ginny always made excuses to go down there alone. She'd said that it was girl time with the two older women, but Harry had long since learned to use his emerald eyes to pierce through any half-truths she told him. When confronted, Ginny's ears would turn furiously red and she'd mumble something about making a surprise for him. Harry still wasn't happy, but he'd turned a blind eye and used the time to catch up with Ron and re-establish their vibrant friendship.

But before he could worry about the tournament, he had to worry about Rebecca. She had been dropping hints about Harry being almost a brother to her, and that he would be the closest thing to a father that the baby would probably ever have. Naturally, Harry hated the attention, but he couldn't deny the fact, especially with Hermione's smug looks in his direction. He eventually gave in and became a prominent figure in the Ravenclaw's life, albeit against his better judgment.

Of course, there were many aspects to this responsibility that Harry didn't expect, and one week early in April he got the biggest shock of his life since the end of the war. He was in his office, grading a few papers on a lazy Saturday afternoon when Ginny came bursting in, a look of mixed excitement and nervousness on her face.

"Harry! Rebecca is going into labor!"

He blinked, his mind not quite processing what she was saying, and having no clue what he was supposed to do about it. Fortunately, Ginny didn't wait for him to work it out. She strode over to his chair, her face flushed from running to get him as her hands pulled on his forearm and forced him out of his chair.

"She's asking for you, you prat! Come on!"

He followed her in a daze, still unsure of what he was supposed to be doing, but trusting her to have some idea. It worked for Ron when Hermione did something random and unexpected, so Harry assumed it would work for him with Ginny.

She led him all the way down to Hogsmeade, never slowing from her near flat out run. Harry wished he'd kept up with his physical training after leaving the war, and it didn't help that the phantom pains were coming back in his stomach, but he kept up with the blaze of red ahead of him. He didn't know what was so important about him being there as fast as possible, but the moment he left the gates, he apparated to the edge of Ron and Hermione's property and tried to catch his breath in the few seconds it took Ginny to figure out what he'd done. She didn't even stop to acknowledge his presence; she just walked quickly to the door, holding it open for him.

The living room was much as he remembered it; Hermione insisted on keeping it spotless. He wondered where Ron was, but he assumed (correctly) that he was somewhere out of the way, but ready to offer support should it be needed. Ginny gripped his arm once again, breathing deeply to calm herself and meeting his questioning gaze.

"Harry, this is going to be a little weird because usually only family members are allowed in the room during labor and birth, but seeing as she doesn't have any..." Her face showed her anguish at the thought, "...I'm going to be delivering the baby, and you're going to take the place of the father of the child."

The last part didn't surprise him as much as it should have, given all of Rebecca's hinting and Hermione's nudging him into that role, but it was still something he hadn't come to terms with.

"Ginny...I have no idea what I'm doing..."

He silenced with a look from her eyes. "You don't have to, just be there for her. Whether you like it or not, you're the strongest male figure in her life, and she needs you." She didn't even give him time to argue before pulling him into the bedroom, where Hermione was watching over Rebecca, who was laid out on the bed with towels under her and only a loose fitting dressing gown draped across her body.

"Her water broke while you were gone," Hermione said in a business-like tone. Ginny nodded, immediately letting go of Harry and crossing to the bed, kneeling down next to where Rebecca lay. Her wand was out almost immediately, her voice murmuring soft charms as her lips thinned in concentration. Harry had no experience with childbirth process, but he wondered why they weren't headed toward St. Mungo's, or at least the hospital wing of Hogwarts. If he'd thought about it, he would have realized that wizards have no good transportation for mothers in labor, but the only thing on his mind was Rebecca's grunting at the onset of another contraction.

"Go." Hermione pushed him toward the bed from behind, her eyes following him as he knelt beside Ginny before she left the room. Harry's eyes wandered over the young girl, a wave of sympathy washing over him; something about her contorted face, her squeezed shut eyes tugged at his heart. Her hand brushed against his, immediately clasping it and gripping tighter than he could have ever expected. He knew he should probably say something comforting, but there was nothing that came to mind, nothing that he understood about what she was going through.

Rebecca gave another loud groan before her back relaxed against the bed and Ginny looked up, a look of slight relief on her face.

"Everything is going perfectly, Rebecca. It looks like we won't even have to call a Healer."

Harry was surprised how calm she could be in the face of everything. He supposed that was a part of her job, but he didn't see how any of this could be something anyone wanted to go through. His eyes met Rebecca's, a soft smile forming on her lips as she recognized him.

"Thank you for being here, Professor."

Harry licked his lips, wondering how to respond. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."

That seemed to go over well, even with Ginny, who gave him a brilliant smile. "She's between contractions, so she should have a couple minutes before it hits again. You might want to get comfortable though - we could be here a while."

Harry looked between the two women, but neither of them seemed distressed by Ginny's suggestion. "Er...exactly how long are we talking about?"

Ginny almost laughed. "It varies, but I'm thinking at least ten hours, maybe longer because it's her first child. It's going to be a long night."

_Well, I guess she was right. I better get comfortable._ He pulled out his wand and conjured a very comfortable looking chair beside the bed, never letting go of Rebecca's hand as he sat himself in it.

"I guess I better plan on staying a while, then?"

Rebecca smiled bigger, but another contraction cut off her reply, a gasp of pain increasing Harry's worry for the young girl. A quick look at Ginny told him there was nothing to be concerned about, but he still held her hand between both of his, and (upon Ginny's encouragement) tried to keep her distracted by talking about everything but children and birth.

--------------------

Harry received his second brutal shock of the day when Rebecca lashed out at him for trying to be understanding, but Ginny was quick to put a hand on his knee and comfort him. She said that it was completely normal, which earned her a second tongue lashing from Rebecca, but a slightly amused smile drove her point home in Harry. The mood swings during labor became something Harry grew accustomed to, even if he wasn't happy with it. It was draining to constantly be comforting, to keep his own irritation from showing when she lashed out at them, but he somehow found the strength to push through it.

--------------------

Thirteen hours after Ginny had come bursting into his office, Harry was fighting exhaustion. Caring for Rebecca had become more and more intense as the contractions had come closer, and it wasn't made any easier by her mood swings. Ginny had taken the time throughout the afternoon and evening to explain everything, and explain how childbirth was a natural process and Muggles complicated it needlessly by introducing their "modern medicines." Indeed, no matter how bad the contortions on Rebecca's face that showed the pain ripping her apart, the soon-to-be mother had taken neither one drop of pain potion nor one bit of a Numbing Charm. Even by the sixth hour, Harry was intensely proud of her, and wondering why anyone had needed to invent the Cruciatus Curse if they could get people pregnant.

A piercing scream brought his attention sharply back into focus, even as Ginny's concentration narrowed. "Okay, Rebecca, the baby is ready to come. Do you want to push for me?"

She let out another gasp of pain for an answer. "What the bloody hell do you _think_ I'm doing?!"

Harry had never known Rebecca to curse before, but he'd learned in the last few hours that she had as colorful a vocabulary that he did. Well, maybe not _that_ colorful, but certainly enough to paint a picture of the pain she was in. He'd long since reverted to her first name, hoping it would have a calming effect on her.

"Rebecca, you're doing a wonderful job. It won't be much longer until all this is over." His voice was soft and comforting, like one he used with his first and second years when they struggled with their magic. A lot of what he'd said to her in the past few hours came in much the same manner, and he was grateful for those experiences with the young children; he wouldn't have had a clue what to say otherwise.

She nearly broke his hand as she groaned again, her face scrunching with the effort of pushing. It continued much the same over the next forty-five minutes, the concern on Ginny's face as she knelt at the bottom of the bed growing. Harry didn't say anything, but he noticed and grew more and more comforting to Rebecca. Finally, after a stinging comment from Ginny that she wasn't pushing hard enough, Rebecca let out another piercing scream and relief flew into Ginny's eyes.

"There's the head, Rebecca! Just keep pushing, you're almost done!"

Harry returned the Ravenclaw's grip, thinking that the name of the house could be taken quite literally, judging by how her nails were digging into his skin. A few seconds later, Rebecca let out a huge breath and started panting loudly, though a broad smile was gracing Ginny's lips as she held something in her arms. Harry had to squelch his first impression ("wow...it's...ugly") as Ginny took a towel and rubbed the baby clean. Its crying was like music to everyone in the room, announcing the end of a nine month pregnancy and the joy of having a new life enter the world.

Harry comforted Rebecca and took a cloth to wipe the sweat from her forehead as Ginny used her wand to record all kinds of things that Harry didn't even bother to look at, and then handed the baby to him.

"You need to cut the umbilical cord before I can give him a bath." Harry would have been confused by this, but during the long hours of labor Ginny had gotten around to his fatherly responsibilities, a lot of which would have been performed by Muggle doctors if they'd been in a hospital in London.

Both were distracted by a cooing coming from Rebecca, a smile working its way across the new mother's face for the first time in a good while.

"It's a boy?"

Ginny nodded, smiling almost as Rebecca. "A very healthy boy."

Rebecca's grin seemed to widen impossibly, looking absolutely giddy. Harry couldn't help but smile despite the baby that was screaming for his attention his his arms. He was careful to support the head (it felt like dead weight), then looked up at Ginny with a lost look in his eyes.

"Just use your wand, and be gentle. I promise it won't hurt him." Ginny gave him a comforting smile before returning to Rebecca, doing something that Harry had no focus on. He pulled out his wand, and after some hesitation, he used the softest Severing Charm possible. After putting his wand away and looking the child nestled in his arm once more, he handed the baby to his mother, a warm feeling spreading through him as he saw the utter joy in her eyes.

The next few minutes passed in blur, which saw Rebecca breast-feeding her new child and Ginny being the wonderful Healer that Harry knew she could be. Once Rebecca was ready, Ron and Hermione came in and expressed their support, as well as (Hermione more so than Ron) getting all gooey over the baby. Rebecca had decided on the name for a boy a long time ago, which Harry had mixed feelings about as Ginny wrote up the official birth certificate.

_Nicholas Harry Princeton_

He'd wondered if his name really sounded good as a middle name, but he wasn't about to contradict her choice. He felt a little uneasy about having his name attached to the son of one of his students that he'd only known for a year, but it was better than the masses of wizarding babies that were now getting his first name because of his hero status.

"You were wonderful." Ginny's voice stirred him from his thoughts as she wrapped around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I had no idea what I was doing..."

She giggled and rubbed her cheek against him. "It didn't matter, you helped more than you know. I used to be scared of having children from the stories Mum told me, but I'm not anymore because I know you'll be there."

She'd been dropping hints about children and marriage for a while now, but something about her sincerity and loving gaze caught him off guard. "Er...well...you know I will be..."

She laughed. "You better." She stood on her toes and kissed him, then looked back to the sleeping forms of mother and son. They looked so peaceful together.

"I hope you're not that..." Harry looked sheepish. "Moody."

Ginny arched a thin eyebrow in a familiar expression that said _Oh, really?_ "Harry, do you really think that I'll be that good? Because if you do, you're in for a very nice shock."

Harry blinked. He didn't know how it could get much worse than that, but if Rebecca (who was usually calm and reserved) could be affected like that, then he didn't want to think what hotheaded Ginny would be like.

"Gin, I'm just worried about getting through your pregnancy alive, much less the birth."

She sniggered and rubbed her nose into his chest. "Thanks for the confidence. I think I'll keep you around though; I'm going to need you to get up at three in the morning when he starts screaming."

It was Harry's turn to raise eyebrows. "So we're having a boy?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry, I'm a Weasley. What do you think I'm going to have?"

She had a point, though she was the first Weasley girl in several generations. Maybe she would be different. Ginny must have noticed the sour expression on his face, because she called him on it.

"Does my Harry Potter want a baby girl?"

_Oh...boy._ He knew he'd never hear the end of this, and his theory was reinforced by the glee on Ginny's face. "You do, don't you?!" Nothing seemed to make her happier at the moment. "The Famous, Unstoppable Harry James Potter is going to have soft spot for his daughter!"

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. He didn't bother to respond; Ginny would make of it what she wanted. It was the truth - he would prefer a girl - but a boy wouldn't be so bad. He could think of all the things he'd wanted to do with _his _father that he'd never gotten the chance for. Ginny's eyes teased him for a moment longer, then turned back to where Rebecca was holding her son with Hermione leaning over and sounding like the amazed sister. Harry followed her gaze, a cold feeling lacing his chest as his eyes settled on Nicholas again. He'd felt something while holding the baby, something that he had felt before but not very often.

"Ginny?"

She turned back to him, her eyes showing that she caught the concern in his voice.

"I...I think Nicholas is going to be a Squib."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "No..."

Harry pulled her closer, taking some comfort in being able to fill his arms with her body. "I...You know magic leaves traces wherever it is used, right?" She nodded, fear taking her voice away. "Well...wizards have the same traces...and...and I can feel them when I try hard enough. Nicholas..." Harry's eyes strayed to the sleeping child. "I couldn't feel it in him."

Ginny's hands grabbed the back of Harry's robes, squeezing tightly to help control the tears that wanted to drop from her eyes. "You...You're sure?"

Harry nodded, feeling almost worse than she did. "It explains a lot of what I felt while she was taking lessons from me...I just didn't know what it was because her magic blocked my view of his."

Ginny pressed her forehead into his chest, mumbling softly and letting a tear leak from her eye. "No...it can't be..."

Harry put a hand on the back of her head, remaining quiet and thinking. He'd brushed it off when he first felt it, but there wasn't any mistaking the second time he'd checked. He'd looked for any other explanation, but there wasn't any. There wasn't that spark of magic that felt the same in every witch or wizard, regardless of age, power, height, weight, or devotion to the light. He'd been shocked when it had been absent in Arabella Figg (the first Squib he'd met since focusing on finding traces of magic), and his theory had been confirmed when he'd seen Argus Filch upon arriving at Hogwarts.

"It just isn't fair!" Ginny's forehead hit his chest again. She was right - there was nothing fair about it. Harry was glad Rebecca was asleep and wouldn't overhear them, but she'd have to be informed eventually. Maybe they could check the Hogwarts record books just to be sure - if Nicholas was scheduled to receive a letter eleven years from now, he could be wrong.

--------------------

Unfortunately, Harry hated being right. After checking with McGonagall, the birth of Nicholas Princton had indeed been left out of the Hogwarts archives. He'd taken the burden upon himself to tell Rebecca, though even Ron had offered to take that burden off his shoulders. She'd reacted much as he expected, right down to the strong maturity she'd shown in holding herself together. It was crushing to find your son would never be a part of the world you had always held dear, that he would never be able to perform a simple levitation charm or _scourgify_ a glass of spilled milk. Harry had (awkwardly) held her hand as silent tears leaked from her eyes, his heart nearly crumbling under the pressure of watching her suffer. In the end, Ginny had been the one to be there for _him_, the one that helped him keep himself together and not let his boundless love get the best of him.

Life went on after the birth, and Rebecca seemed to want nothing less than to be a mother. Unfortunately, she still had another year of Hogwarts to complete, which posed a significant problem as to who would take care of the baby. Rebecca had expressed a desire for Harry and Ginny to care for it, but with their posts at Hogwarts, there was no way this could be accomplished. Harry had quickly pushed from his mind thoughts of his own children and what he would do if he and Ginny were still at Hogwarts if and when they decided to have children.

It was in this light that Harry found himself down in Hogsmeade one night while Ginny was working late in the library. He bypassed the outer wards and knocked gently on the door, hoping to not wake anyone who might be sleeping.

"Harry!" Hermione wrapped him in a brief hug, then invited him in with a gesture. Her voice was more subdued than normal, and he was glad he'd been quiet. "Rebecca and Nick are sleeping, so keep your voice down."

He nodded as Ron came into the room, his best mate smiling and giving him a bear-hug in greeting. "Hey, what are you doing down here?"

Harry glanced between his two best friends and shoved his hands in his pockets in a characteristic sign of nervousness. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Nick."

Hermione apparently guessed what was coming, because she led the way to sit down, offering Harry tea which he politely declined. Ron frowned as he noticed the serious expressions, but Harry beat him to the punch.

"Has Rebecca talked to you about what she's going to do with Nick when she goes back to school?"

Ron looked at his wife questioningly, but she already had what Harry was thinking worked out. "Harry, she hasn't, but you know how I feel about that."

"It would only be for a year, and then she could be back with her rightful mother." Harry had prepared for this. "You said you didn't want to adopt because you didn't want to take some strange child. Well, it's not - you're just helping out a friend who can't take care of hers until she can."

Hermione bit her lip, thinking, but Ron cut in. "Wait, you want us to take care of him while she's finishing Hogwarts?"

Harry nodded. "You can't pretend you don't like her, and Ron, even you can't pretend that you wouldn't like having him." Harry gave the redhead a knowing look, one that was so reminiscent of his wife it was slightly scary.

"Have you thought that maybe we aren't ready for something like that? I mean, there are a lot of times that neither of us are home, that we don't have the time?"

"Ronald!"

Ron's head jerked around, throwing a disbelieving look at his wife. "You're actually considering this?"

"I don't see what other choice we have. I'm not going to let Rebecca give her baby away, and I don't think anyone else will take it. As much as your Mum loves children, I don't think it's right to ask her to do it now that she is done with her own."

The look in Ron's eyes was unmistakable, but Harry counted the exchange as a victory. All he had to do was convince Hermione - Ron would come along eventually if that happened.

"You don't need to make a decision now, but I know Rebecca would be relieved if you told her by the time exams came around."

Hermione smiled - she didn't miss Harry's expectation that they were going to agree to keep the baby. In truth, she didn't see any other outcome, and she knew it would be an amazing year if they did keep him. Rebecca would be down to see him enough that he would know his mother, and it would give herself and Ron a chance to care for a baby when they couldn't have their own.

"We will, Harry. Just don't say anything to her about it, would you?"

He nodded in agreement. The rest of the night was turned to lighter subjects, finishing with Ron cleaning Harry's clock at a game of chess before Harry found his way back to the castle.

--------------------

"You know, you really should feel bad about giving me so much work."

Ginny and Harry were enjoying a late dinner as the month of April faded into nothingness, the activity being one of the things that they found they enjoyed most. Ginny was often working late and studying hard, so she didn't eat with the rest of the students, and the staff table was a little too old for Harry's liking, so they ate with each other courtesy of Dobby and a few of the other house elves in the kitchen.

Tonight, they'd taken their dinner out to the Quidditch pitch to take advantage of the warming weather. There was a breeze that played through their hair perfectly, bending around the light of Ginny's smile and the lazy grin that fixed itself on Harry's face. They both were in quite a good mood, enough so that light-hearted teasing was the only topic of conversation, mixed with the occasional kiss and heart warming comment as they sat cross-legged and facing each other.

"Come off it, Gin, you wanted to be a match referee too."

She smiled and took a bite of his treacle tart right out of his hand. He scowled at her mischievous grin, moving his hand as far away from her mouth as possible.

"I only did it so I give myself _less_ work, but no, you have to go and encourage William to use a Slug-Vomiting Hex. It took hours for that one to wear off."

Harry adopted an innocent expression. "You'll have to talk to Ron about that, I don't know anything about it. He's the expert on that curse."

They both shared a laugh - seeing that particular spell had brought back memories of Ron's broken wand and Harry's second year at Hogwarts. Ginny hadn't been there at the time, but she'd heard about it through the rumor mill, and later from Harry himself.

"So what's the prize for winning?"

She'd been trying to get him to tell her that ever since he'd announced a secret prize for the winner. In reality, once the Weasley Twins got wind of the tournament, they'd pledged a 50 galleon gift certificate to the winner, but Harry couldn't let that get out. It was part of the agreement - Fred and George were always one for surprises. And besides, the rumors about what the prize actually was were quite amusing. Ginny had nearly hexed a Slytherin seventh year who'd suggested that it might be a night of fun with the famous Harry Potter.

"Can't say...you know, that whole business of maintaining the anonymity of my sources."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "And here I thought you trusted me with everything..."

Even though he knew it was done in jest, a cold feeling set in his stomach and the playful glint dampened in his eyes. "Gin..."

Her hand reached up to curve her palm against his cheek, her eyes fixing on his and drawing his gaze in a way he couldn't resist. "Harry, I never doubt it anymore. I know if you're not telling me something, it's not important enough to matter. I know it's supposed to be a surprise, and I don't want to ruin that for you."

His eyes closed as he set his food down on the blanket they'd brought out. "Ginny, I just don't ever want you to think about trust. I...After everything we've been through, I know I have to prove to you that you can trust me."

She shook her head, crawling over to him and pushing his shoulders back and pressing him into the soft grass behind him. "Harry, I've long since gotten over that. I know everything you do is what you think is best, even if you are a bit deluded at times." She smiled and rested her forehead against his, pressing the tips of their noses together. "I love and trust you, Harry. Don't forget that, ever."

A kiss followed, one that remained tame for all of two minutes before Ginny was sucking hard on her lover's neck. Harry was already breathing hard when his hands gripped her hips tightly to get her attention, and then suddenly finding himself staring into a smoldering brown fire that could only have one source.

"Gin...we can't...not out here."

She shook her head and kissed him again, catching his open mouth by surprise and sliding her tongue inside of it. To his credit, he didn't try to force her out, but he simply accepted the kiss until she started in on his jaw, kissing a line up to his ear and nibbling on his earlobe.

"Gin...I'm serious. Someone could walk out here at any moment."

She licked behind his ear and took a long whiff of his hair, pinning his shoulders to the ground with her hands.

"I don't care, I just want you, right now." Her voice was dark and husky, much like her eyes had been. Harry knew she had an erotic streak, one that most men would be drooling over, but occasionally she wanted him at all the wrong places and times.

Unfortunately, she had a way of making _him_ want _her_ at all the wrong places and times. Her fingers laced into his hair, her nails scratching the back of his head in the exact way that sent shivers down his spine and flutters through his eyes.

"Gin...please..." Harry was whimpering by now, trying unsuccessfully to use his hands to make her hips stop that brutally amazing grinding of hers. "Let's go back to the room..."

"I can't wait..." Her teeth bit down on his neck, her hands sliding under his robes and crawling up under his shirt, sending another wave of pleasure through his nerves.

"At least..." He exhaled sharply as her hand found its way back down to a certain place between his legs, rubbing her palm against him as a feral grin graced her lips. "Changing rooms..."

She didn't need to be told twice. Abandoning their dinner supplies on the pitch, she crawled off him and stood, nearly dragging him to the changing rooms that the Quidditch teams used before every game. The locks were a joke to Harry's wand, which was discarded soon after Ginny slammed its user up against the wall. There was a faint magical glow that gave them enough light to see, but threw provocative shadows across their figures. Clothes were no more a problem to Ginny's practiced hands than the locks were for Harry's wand; they became quickly tossed about onto the changing room's floor. The Slytherin Quidditch team could have burst in for an after hours practice, but they would have been cut short by a sight that none of them would ever have wanted to see. It was a good thing they didn't, too, because neither Harry nor Ginny would have noticed, or had the grace to pull themselves away from each other.

Sometime later, much later, Mrs. Norris caught two young lovers sneaking back up to Gryffindor Tower, but they weren't students as the cat had suspected. The black-haired wizard had to stop the red-haired one from giving the animal a good kick, but the two made it up to the tower without incident, finally collapsing in bed, giggling uncontrollably and wrapping around each other once again. It took them a while to settle down after their "adventure", and to get over the thrill of having that adventure in their old Quidditch changing rooms, but they finally fell asleep together, with only one thought between the two of them, and that one in the boy's mind.

_I'm going to marry this girl, and it's going to be bloody fantastic._


	21. Of Past and Future

_**A/N:** As always, thanks to those of you who review. Normally I don't respond to reviews unless they have specific questions, but I just had to point out one I got from last chapter concerning Ginny slapping Harry. When I say slapping, I mean in the best possible way. Swatting is a better term to describe it - I wish I had thought of it when writing. And besides that, it was just an amazingly awesome review all around. _

_For those of you wondering, this is the second to last chapter. While I've had loads of fun writing it, I'm glad to see this fic come to a close. I have many other ideas, some of which you'll see showing up here, and even more of which will be in my LiveJournal._

_My beta asked me if there will be any Harry/Ginny scenes where I write what Harry teaches her in terms of magic (read the chapter and you'll understand), and I told him not at the moment. I might, however, write one-shots if there is interest, so let me know if that's the case._

_Anyway, here's an update just like you asked for. _:D _As always, thanks to Greg for keeping me grounded._

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty-One: Of Past and Future_**

As the spring continued to grace the Hogwarts grounds with fabulous weather, all anyone (including the faculty) could seem to talk or even think about were the impending finals of the dueling tournament. The four house winners had been selected through the single elimination tournament, and the finals were set to commence on the third Saturday and Sunday of May. However, as much as he was involved with the preparation and running of the tournament, Harry Potter had one other thing on his mind that, to him, made the tournament seem like a minor detail. He knew if he waited much longer Ginny was going to propose to him, and as much as it seemed easier to do it that way, he would never be able to stand the shame.

He already had the ring - he'd gotten it ages ago, knowing the moment he saw it that it was perfect - and he knew where they would be, but he had zero idea of what to say or how to say it. He'd been puzzling over it for the past few months, even standing in front of a mirror, but in the end he finally beat down his pride and asked for help from someone with experience. He couldn't ask Ron - Hermione had told him how awkward (although romantic) it had been - so he turned to someone who he knew would be cool under the pressure.

"Hello Harry." Bill Weasley offered a hand as Harry approached the table. The pair had agreed to meet at a nice wizarding restaurant, not too fancy, but nice enough that Bill was currently enjoying a very fine wine. The place had been Bill's suggestion - Harry had simply owled and presented the eldest Weasley brother with his problem.

"Hello Bill." They shook hands as Harry took his seat, looking around nervously. One thing that he'd never done or had any great desire to do was dine at fancy restaurants. It seemed too overdone, too uptight to be comfortable. His feelings, of course, had nothing to do with the fact that he had no idea how to act, and certainly nothing to do with how the Yule Ball turned out.

"You might want to get used to it - this is what us married folk do."

Harry resisted the urge to scowl at Bill's knowing smile. He pondered that for a moment, deciding that Bill was right; Ginny would love to (occasionally) get dressed up and be treated to a night out by a gentleman, as long as it ended with a long goodnight kiss. He suppressed a smile at the ideas of what would happen during that kiss.

"Not married yet," Harry sighed, looking everywhere but at Bill. The redhead nodded, understanding the younger wizard's nervousness. He'd felt it not so long ago, even though marrying Fleur had to be the best decision of his life.

"Not for lack of trying on her part, I'd reckon." They shared a laugh at that as the waiter came over to take their orders. Bill, upon seeing the discomfort that such a large menu and being put on the spot caused Harry, ordered for the both of them. He'd talked to this particular waiter before Harry arrived, offering him a nice tip if he'd keep the Boy-Who-Defeated-Evil's presence quiet.

"I just don't know what to say to her. I mean, I know that this is what I want, and that I can't wait much longer, but every time I think of something to say, it just sounds lame."

"Of course it does, Harry." Bill gave him a sympathetic smile. "That's when you know you're ready to be married. You love her enough that when you try to put it into words, it comes out all wrong and it doesn't come close to what you really feel."

Harry's eyes widened, wondering how Bill could put into words what he'd been trying to for months. "That's exactly it. She deserves so much better than anything I can say."

Bill shook his head, amused for reasons that Harry couldn't comprehend. "What better thing can you do for her than give her the thing that makes her the happiest?"

Harry knew exactly what Bill was getting at, but he just couldn't bring himself to agree. "She's been focused on me for so long, ever since she met me. What if there's something better out there that she hadn't even seen yet?" At this, Harry's eyes met the tablecloth as he sighed, absently toying with his fork.

"How does she act around you?"

Harry blinked. "Um...like Ginny?"

Bill shook his head. "Is she happy?"

Harry nodded as his forehead creased, wondering what Bill was getting at.

"Do you want her to be happy?"

"Of course!"

"Then wouldn't being around her forever give her that happiness that you want her to have?"

Harry squirmed uncomfortably. Bill was forcing him face the fact that he made her happy, and that was something that he'd never completely believed. He'd been completely helpless to make anyone less than miserable for the first eleven years of his life, and the first being that he'd made happy was a Boa Constrictor who'd never seen Brazil. It just didn't seem right that he could produce something so wonderful.

"So suppose I actually got up the nerve to ask her, what would she want to hear? I mean, she's so different than Hermione, and to be honest, I've never really been around many other girls."

Bill laughed. "Quite the ladies' man, are you?" He took a sip of wine. "If I know my sister, she'll just want to hear what you're really thinking. She'd like nothing better than for you to stumble over your words and get all tongue tied."

Harry smiled grimly. "That's what I'm afraid of. She'd never let me live that one down."

"No, she'd love to have that to hold over your head, but at least you don't have to deal with the veela charm when you're trying to pop the question. I remember Fleur was glowing and nearly attracting every un-married male in the entire restaurant. I could barely think straight she was so beautiful."

"Ginny doesn't need the veela charm to do that to me," Harry replied quietly, sipping on a butterbeer as their food came. It was extraordinarily fast service - there were benefits to being a hero, even if he hated it. "So you proposed in a restaurant?"

Bill smiled, his eyes glossing over, obviously locked in memory. "It was a nice French place. We were visiting her parents in France, and I wanted to surprise her. She'd always expected me to ask while we were in Britain, so she let her guard down while we were there. I think that's the one and only time I've seen her look absolutely stunned. I won't ever forget it."

Harry nodded, smiling. If he had anything to say about it, neither he nor Ginny would ever forget the night they got engaged.

The meal continued in an easy peace, the talk drifting away from proposing and more to what actual marriage was like. Bill admitted that it was like putting yourself under twenty-four hour a day inspection and always having to please the wife, but when it was someone you loved as much as the two wizards loved their women, it didn't seem so much of a chore as a privilege. Harry tried to pay for the entire meal, which Bill would have none of (the wife will kill me), and the two parted with a warm farewell and a promise that he'd be one of the first to know after Ginny said yes.

--------------------

His conversation with Bill made Harry feel a bit better - especially the part about Ginny loving it if he stumbled over his words. Grudgingly, Harry admitted to himself that she would probably find it cute, as embarrassing as it would be. He vowed to himself that she wouldn't get the chance to tease him about it, but he knew the chances of that were slim.

The only thing that was still out of place in his mind was the near constant presence of Tonks, as she was appearing often even within the walls of the castle. Ginny was getting more and more smug as the tournament's end approached, and Harry had even spotted several members of the Order around, causing Harry to wonder what she was up to. They all seemed to be talking to Ginny at some time or another, but he could only guess that they'd become somewhat friends during the war - everyone had taken part in cheering her up while the Trio left her behind. Harry felt a pang of guilt at that thought, so he didn't ask about their presence, but he was still glad that Ginny hadn't been with them for the war. Some of the things that they'd seen and done he would never wish on any human being, let alone the love of his life.

Before he knew it, the tournament had come down to one final match between a Gryffindor sixth-year and a Slytherin seventh-year. It really hadn't been fair to the younger years to be matched against older (something he'd have to think about next year), but it had been loads of fun all the same.

Every student (or so it seemed) turned up at the pitch to watch the final match on Sunday. It took place on a warm but breezy day, one that made Harry want to disappear and take Ginny down by the lake for a nice picnic that included a long snogging session, but that would have to wait until later. After a heated match, the Gryffindor (much to Harry's delight) had snuck a stunner through the Slytherin's shield. It had come down to endurance, in which the Lion had bested the Serpent. Currently, Harry was announcing the winner and offering him a trophy that Hermione had spent hours detailing.

Harry bowed slightly to the Champion, his black unbiased robes fluttering gently in the wind. He'd wanted to wear red and gold, but Ginny had talked him out of it on general principle. Speaking of the witch, she was suspiciously absent, but Harry had seen the look on her face that morning - she was up to something, and it was without a doubt the surprise she'd mentioned earlier in the year. He quickly pushed that thought from his head as he pulled a rather large piece of gold from his robes and turned back to the victorious Gryffindor.

"In honor of Mr. Boardman's victory, I am happy to present 50 Wheezing Galleons complimentary of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. The esteemed owners of such a fine establishment have chosen Hogwarts as the location that they wish to unveil their newest product line - House-Humbling Fireworks."

As the last bit of Harry's amplified voice traveled throughout the pitch, an explosion sounded, drawing every eye up to the massive red and gold lion that appeared over the stadium. A collective gasp was followed by a deafening roar from the lion before it ran a lap around the stands, fading into nothingness in another shower of sparks. Applause exploded from the crowd (well, all but the Slytherins) as Harry handed the Gryffindor his coin. The cacophony continued for a long while, and Harry was just about to dismiss everyone when another very familiar voice exploded from the other side of the pitch.

"I, Ginevra Molly Weasley, formally challenge Harry James Potter to a wizarding duel, to be held at this time and location."

For his part, Harry did his best not to look shocked, but there wasn't much that he could hide behind. Even the unflappable Minerva McGonagall (who was standing behind him) seemed to be stunned. Ginny had somehow slipped onto the pitch unnoticed, which had to have been an astounding feat given the blazing red and gold robes she wore. The robes matched her hair perfectly, also something that was impossible, and the gold seemed accent the glow that surrounded her angelic presence.

The crowd was deathly silent as heads turned toward the press box where the awards had been presented. Harry knew dueling had been outlawed many years ago, but that wouldn't stop Ginny from digging up the formal challenge rules and pulling something like this. Harry had no idea what the proper response was, but he tried his best to sound official.

"I, Harry James Potter, accept this challenge."

A gasp and whispers of excitement raced through the crowd as Harry stepped out of the press box and made his way down to the pitch. He could almost see the grin on his girlfriend's face as she stood waiting. He finally got down to the pitch, though the whispers had increased to a dull roar. Harry could even see the faculty looking on in anticipation. He turned to face his opponent just as her voice rang out again, no doubt amplified by a very powerful _Sonorus_ Charm.

"The only rule for this engagement is the two combatants must stay within the bounds of the arena, in this case the pitch." Ginny paused to send a devilish smile at her boyfriend. "Mrs. Hermione Weasley has offered to moderate this duel. Would you please step forward?"

Harry eyed his best friend as she stepped onto the pitch, also seemingly from nowhere. She was wearing deep blue robes that looked amazing on her – Harry was even reminded of the Yule ball for a moment.

"Are the two duelists ready?"

Harry's eyes fixed on Ginny, letting Hermione's voice float into one ear and out the other. The last few months made sense now - the Order was helping Ginny train for this moment. In his prime, Harry would have no problem taking Ginny out quickly, but now that he'd taken a break from the strenuous action for nearly a year now, and that Ginny had enlisted the Order's help, this could be a good match.

_Well, if a fight is what she wants, that's what she's going to get._

"Ready!" Harry called out, and Ginny echoed him, their eyes never breaking each other's gaze.

"_Tonare!_" A blast echoed, and Harry leapt immediately into action.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

"_Protego!_"

Ginny blocked the stunner like she knew it was coming. Harry had to jump out of the way of a return hex, staring at the redhead. A lot had changed in the past few months, and suddenly Ginny was a beacon of power standing in front of him that glowed like nothing he'd ever seen. No doubt Hermione had let her in on all of his dueling strategies - Ginny had every advantage over him, unless he could do a few things that even Hermione didn't know about.

"_Incarcerous!_"

Ginny tried to deflect the spell, but it overpowered her. Her arms were suddenly bound behind her and her legs were bound together, causing her to fall to the earth. A gasp went up through the crowd as Harry walked toward her, his wand pointing at her.

"Come on, Gin, you really think you can take me?" He was gloating, something he knew he'd have to pay for later, but it was really low of her to surprise him like this.

"_Expelliarm-_"

He never finished the spell. Ginny somehow cancelled the magical chains that bound her wrists and whipped her wand around and bellowed a curse.

"_Percido!_"

Harry felt like Hagrid had sucker-punched him right in the gut. He was blown back a good twenty feet, landing hard on his back on the grass and sliding another good foot and a half. It was all he could do to keep hold of his wand as he rolled onto his side and doubled over, wheezing as his vision blurred and cleared. By the time he was kneeling and was able to find Ginny, she was standing with a self-satisfied smirk on her lips.

"Had enough yet, Potter?"

_I have to find a way...oh._ Harry met her eyes, smiling. "I don't think so, Weasley." _Legilimens!_ Harry thought, but just as he was about to access her thoughts, a big, solid wall blasted him in the face, giving him a resounding headache. Ginny laughed, keeping her wand trained on him.

"Thought that would work, eh Potter?"

Harry cursed under his breath. _Since when did she know Occlumency? Damnit, even I can't do that!_

"_Langlock!_"

"_Protego!_"

"_Rictusempra!_"

"_Silencio!_"

_Caecus!_ Ginny wasn't prepared for the final, non-verbal curse. She'd blocked/dodged the first two and her silencing charm had hit Harry's throat, but the third curse was completely unexpected. Her eyes started moving frantically, her hands coming to her face out of instinct which allowed Harry to stand. The pain in his gut had subsided to a dull throb, which Ginny was going to pay for now.

_Incarcerous!_

This time, visible ropes exploded from Harry's wand, wrapping the redhead tight and giving her another thing to struggle against. She'd expected a disarming charm, the block for which failed against the binding spell. Harry pulled on the cords to bring her closer, hearing her desperately trying to relieve the blindness of her eyes. Suddenly, her movements stopped and she touched her wand to the ropes around herself.

"_Incendio!_"

The ropes burst into flame, singing her robes but falling away as they no longer had the thickness to restrain her. She pulled her wand in a huge slashing arc in front of her, aiming in Harry's general direction before he'd blinded her.

_"Flagrate!_"

A massive arc of fire slashed toward Harry, forcing him to duck out of the way and throw himself at the ground. He felt the heat wash over his back. His face turned from the dirt as his wand shot out in front of him, noticing that Ginny's eyes had locked on him in the time it had taken him to get out of the way and turn on his side.

_"Expelliarmus!_"

Only Ginny's voice could be heard, but two flashes of red light struck their targets, sending both wands high into the air. Reflexively, Harry grabbed Ginny's as it came toward him, but his own wand wound up in her hand. It felt a little odd having her wand, but somehow, deep down, he knew it was right. It wasn't the same thrum of power he got from the holly and phoenix feather, but somehow he could feel _Ginny_ in his hand.

_"Adstringo Incendium!_"

Ropes of fire exploded from Harry's wand in Ginny's hand, wrapping around Harry and binding his arms to his sides and his legs together. He froze for a moment in shock, the fire burning through his robes.

_So she wants to play with fire, eh? Aguamenti!_

The water put the ropes out as he pushed off the ground and got to his feet, holding Ginny's wand against its owner. They both were breathing heavily, sweat smearing their foreheads and fierce determination showing in their eyes.

"_Stupefy! Stupefy!_" Ginny let out two stunners in quick succession, then crouched and rolled to the side. Harry waved his wand and conjured that bright silver shield, the familiar gong sounding through the pitch, though on the second spell the metal cracked slightly.

_Levicorpus!_

Ginny was ready and deflected his hex, still crouching and aiming her wand.

"_Exoculo!_"

Harry panicked and dove out of the way, his shield vanishing in his evasive action. He rolled with his momentum, coming up to face Ginny, but she'd already caught him. A nasty green-colored hex blasted him in the stomach with the force of a sledgehammer, causing him to double over for the second time in the duel. He immediately vomited, spewing slugs all over his shoes as Ginny's laugh rushed over his ears.

"Justice is served, Potter." She grinned, keeping her wand trained on him as another wave of slugs washed over him, clearly enjoying her seeming moment of advantage. Harry waited until he retched again, then waved his wand at her.

_Aculeus!_

She never saw it coming. Harry's curse erupted from his wand with a deadly precision, spearing her in the stomach and causing an almost unbearable stinging sensation, like she'd been stung by a gigantic insect. Harry vomited again, giving her a moment to recover and shakily point her wand at him again.

"_Vespertilio Emungo!_"

It probably wasn't such a nice thing to do to hit him while he was down, but he obviously wasn't out. Harry found out first hand why every Weasley feared her Bat-Bogey Hex - he suddenly had a very dry nose and enormous bats attacking his face while he belched slugs. Laughter could be heard throughout the crowd, striking something deep within Harry he thought he'd forgotten.

_Imperio!_

The thought was out before he could stop it. He'd felt as though he was back in primary school, with Dudley torturing him as everyone laughed around him, helpless under some sort of spell, but now he could take control. Ginny's eyes glossed over, waving her wand as she released the Bat-Bogey Hex. Harry's instincts kicked in, jabbing his wand at her through another belch of slugs.

_Stupefy!_

He forced her still with the Imperius as the red light lanced out at her. She was blasted off her feet, landing some fifteen feet away, hitting the grass hard and sliding against it for another foot. Hermione immediately ran over to her, as Harry stared at his wand, spacing in and out of real time as his the rest of him caught up to his actions. Another belch of slugs, and the thought passed him that nothing could punish him properly for what he'd done. Well, there was one thing, but he had to get out of...

A red light flashed in front of his eyes, and everything went black.

--------------------

His eyes snapped open to find three wands pointed at him, two of them held by redheads and that familiar brown bush also hanging over him. He had no idea where he was, other than the bed was extremely comfortable and he could smell a faint scent on the pillow that comforted him.

Immediately, he groped for his wand, but he knew it was a futile action. He did learn that he was in his own bed, and that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were the ones with their wands trained on him. As far as he could tell, there was no one else in the room.

"Harry?"

Ginny's soft voice floated into his ears, bringing back the memories of why he was here and why he suddenly had the urge to run far away and never come back. He felt a soft hand on his cheek, and he realized one of the wands had disappeared. He brought his eyes to rest on his girlfriend, glancing at her once over to assure that she wasn't hurt before he closed his eyes, unable to look her any longer.

"Harry, please look at me."

He shook his head from side to side, refusing. He wanted to leave, to run, to get away, but the two wands pointed at him held him in place. At least with his eyes closed Hermione would have to wait until _after_ he moved before acting - before she could just read his thoughts.

"I'm not angry with you Harry. I just don't want you to do anything stupid."

Trust Ginny to get straight to the point, and to hit the nail on the head. She was, after all, his soulmate.

"Just leave me alone."

He could almost feel her deflate next to him as she sat down on the bed. "Harry, I'm not leaving. You promised you wouldn't shut me out, and I don't trust you to be alone."

Irritation swelled within him. Why was it such a problem to leave him alone? Why couldn't he deal with this by himself, just like he'd always done? Why did she have to care so goddamn much?

"I didn't promise them." He pointed in the general direction he'd seen Ron and Hermione. He knew he was being childish, but it really didn't matter at the moment. He was surprised when he heard footsteps leading away from the bed, and then the soft sliding of the wall as it opened and closed. He could only assume that Ginny gave them a look that said _Let me deal with this._

With her brother and sister-in-law gone, Ginny climbed on top of Harry and straddled his stomach, though he couldn't feel much of her through his robes. She leaned down to kiss him, capturing his unwilling lips sensually and stroking his cheek with her palm. He didn't kiss her back, but she didn't seem to care. She laid light kisses on his lips and nose, sliding her hand around to hold the back of his head and gently caress him with her nails.

"I love you."

He fought it, he really did. He fought the compulsion, the need, the desire to speak, but he couldn't. Not when she said it first.

"I love you too."

She seemed content with that, kissing the outside of his eyelids before she pulled back a little. When her lips fell again, he felt a tingling sensation on his scar, sending a soft wave of pleasure through his system. She laid three light kisses on it, the last one lingering as both of her hands laced into his hair. She kissed it once more before pulling back, her soft palm brushing his cheek once more.

"It's all right, Harry. It's over."

He shook his head. It was far from over, and what's worse, it could happen again. "I just lost control, Gin. I treated you like a Death Eater. I took it way too far."

The self-loathing was clear as day in his voice, causing Ginny's heart to break. "You did what you needed to win. Nothing more."

Harry shook his head, squirming under her but unwilling to throw her off him. "No, you don't understand. It was like being seven again, and having everyone laughing at me while I was helpless. You don't understand what I could have done to you, how I hated what you had done to me. I...I think I did it out of hatred, Ginny. I hated you."

A tear slipped from his cheek, one that Ginny quickly kissed away and moved to kiss the next one that fell on his other cheek. "You didn't hate me, Harry. Nothing I could do would make you hate me. You love me. You love me more than anything you have ever known."

Regardless of whether she believed it, she was right. Harry could detect the fear in her voice, the slight slip that showed her insecurity, but it didn't matter. She was right, and he still needed to prove it to her. Even after almost nine years of knowing each other since they were little kids, he needed to prove it to her.

"I do. I love you more than you can possibly imagine, Ginny. I just can't forgive myself for doing that to you."

She leaned down to kiss him, and this time he was a more willing participant. They shared a soft kiss before Ginny looked down at his still closed eyes. "What are you going to do, Harry? How do you think you can make this better."

He opened his eyes for the first time, and Ginny's heart nearly broke again. There was nothing of the usual fierceness, nothing of the life she so loved in them. "I can't. Nothing can ever forgive this, it's unforgivable. I used the Imperius on you, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life in Azkaban."

Her legs tightened around him, her arms wrapping around his neck as his head was pressed into her chest. It was all she could do to blink back the tears forming in her own eyes as she buried her nose in his hair.

"You're not going to Azkaban, Harry, and if you are, I'm going with you. I will not spend another moment without you."

If it had been any other time, Harry would have appreciated the face full of Ginny's chest he was getting, but even that couldn't cheer him up. His voice was muffled, but still audible.

"I'll never be able to look at you ever again, Gin." She pulled back and he shut his eyes to avoid hers. "I won't be able to tell you I love you without thinking of today."

She sighed and sat up, brushing her hair back with a hand and resisting the urge to slap him. "Harry, no one knows what happened besides the four of us. Everyone else thinks I froze and you got me with a stunner after you ended the Bat-Bogey Hex. If you think for one minute that _anyone_ will believe you used the Imperius, you're sadly mistaken."

"I can use a memory to prove it."

"I'll obliviate you."

That drew a wide-eyed stare from her lover.

"So help me God, Harry, if you let this get between us, I'll obliviate you. Better yet, I'll let Hermione do it. She'll make sure the only thing you remember from the end of the duel is an unbelievable shagging from me."

Despite everything, Harry's lips just had to quirk upward in a very slight, almost invisible smile. "Because you need a memory charm for that to be believable."

Ginny stared down at him in shock. "We'll see where _you_ are sleeping tonight." She crossed her arms over her chest, looking quite irritated.

"Gin, don't even go there. You know you need it more than I do."

She gaped at him, wondering if this was how to fix everything. The moment she'd started talking about shagging, Harry had dropped the subject. She reached behind her and slid her hand under his robes, finding a certain area between his legs and cupping her hand over it. She was rewarded with the predictable response, and a smirk appeared on her lips and in her eyes.

"I don't think so, Potter."

He sighed, turning his head to face the wall and avoiding her eyes again. "No, Gin...I actually don't want it right now. I don't want anything."

Ginny's hand came to turn his head, her look changing from a smirk to concern as fast as you could say Potter. His eyes showed that it was long forgotten, that he'd just jumped on the first thing that let him get away from the subject. "Harry, I don't want you punishing yourself over this. I just want you."

He shook his head. "I...I can't."

To his surprise, she didn't respond immediately. Instead, she reached for her wand, pointing it at his arms and whispering "_Incarcerous._"

His wrists were pulled above his head and tied to the wall there by magic. Harry knew it was futile to search for his wand, so he simply looked up at Ginny, confused.

"That spell is becoming a favorite, I suppose."

She nodded silently, resting her hands on his chest, her legs relaxing around him now that he couldn't get away. "Harry, do you know why I spent the last few months learning from Tonks and Hermione to get ready to duel you?"

He shook his head.

"It's because I want to protect you. You almost died in Hogsmeade, and there was nothing I could do for you. You were with Ron and Hermione the whole time during the war, and they watched over you and protected you. When it came time for me to do the same, I wasn't strong enough. I should have taken care of Malfoy before he even got the chance to hurt you."

Harry's eyes became bigger and bigger as she talked, and by the end, he was shaking his head. "Gin, don't...I don't want you to. What happened isn't your fault."

She put a hand over his mouth, shushing him. "Harry, you're always going to be in danger, and so will I. The only thing that will keep us safe is trusting each other and watching each other's backs. You're a hero, and there's nothing either of us can do about it. So either you can let me continue to be weak and defenseless, or you can take it as your punishment to help me and teach me to protect us. I know you don't want to, but I think its a good punishment. If I could have defended myself, none of this would have happened."

The rest of what she was saying made perfect sense, but Harry grasped the last part, absently pulling on his restraints as they kept him from grabbing her shoulders and shaking some sense into her. "This isn't your fault, Gin. Stop blaming yourself."

"I will when you do." She developed that stubborn tone that Harry knew better than to fight. He relaxed against the bed again, his wrists hanging above his head limply.

"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"

She shook her head. "You're going to teach me everything you know, even all that Dark Magic you picked up while you were drowning yourself in firewhiskey. It's only fair because you used it on me."

That sparked a new life in his resistance. "No."

"Yes."

"No, Ginevra. I won't. Not the Dark Magic."

She didn't argue, at least not verbally. She waved her wand again, whispering as his legs were magically bound to the bottom of the bed. Sometimes having a four-poster bed wasn't such a good idea.

"Fine. I'll leave you here until you agree with me, _James_."

The name sent a cold shiver down his spine - she'd never used it before (and probably wouldn't again), but he instinctively knew what it meant. The use of that name was her counter to his usual way of getting her attention, and the effect was only reinforced by the memories of his father's big-headedness during school. She moved off him and stood up, looking disheveled and tired. She walked toward the exit, taking her wand with her, as well as pulling what Harry presumed to be his out of the bedside table.

"Gin...don't leave."

She turned, an _Oh really? _look in her eyes. "I thought you wanted to be left alone?"

Harry sighed. She was going to make this as painful as possible. "I...I don't want to be alone. I want you."

She looked as though she was going to pounce on top of him, but she held back at the last possible second. "And to prove it, you're going to teach me _everything_ you know? Everything that might possibly help me protect us?"

He hated how she said it, how she wanted to put herself in the middle, how she wanted to undo everything he'd ever tried to protect her from. He hated how she was forcing him into this, but what he hated most of all was that he wanted it. He wanted someone to share everything with, to teach everything he couldn't share with his students, to listen when he told stories he'd been keeping from the world, and someone who would comfort him in the end.

"I will, if you teach me Occlumency."

A confused look came over her face. "You...you don't know how to shield your mind?" It had taken her only a few months to learn it, at Hermione's suggestion that Harry was a good Legilimens.

Harry shook his head. "I tried, I really did. Hermione was always amazing at it - even Voldemort himself couldn't get to her. She said my problems had something to do with my past, and how emotionally frayed I am, and how I was trying to force away feelings that would be picked up by any good Legilimens. She tried to get me to talk about it, but I wouldn't. I couldn't share everything - you saw what it was like when I was younger. I couldn't let her know something like that, especially during the war."

Ginny's gaze softened, her wand waving to release the binds as she crawled on top of him. "Of course I will. You know I'm always here for you, no matter what you need. You know I hate it when you keep things from me - this will be a good way for the both of us to get over everything."

Finally, Harry wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, causing a soft smile to work across her face. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I'm only trying to do the right thing."

She snuggled into him, planting her cheek against his chest affectionately. "I know, Harry. That's all you ever try to do, and I love you for it. I just wish you would listen to me more."

"I'll try."

She nodded, letting her eyes fall shut, exhaustion sweeping over her. Worry for Harry had spiked her system with adrenaline after she'd been revived, but the rush was wearing off and her lover's arms were so warm and comforting.

"I'll always love you, Harry. No matter what."

His hand rubbed her back gently, his voice as sleepy as her own. "I love you too, Gin. Even when I'm being a prat."

Her soft giggle was the last thing either of them heard before drifting off into a peaceful sleep together.


	22. Together Forever

**_Chapter Twenty-Two: Together Forever_**

It seemed that Harry and Ginny had finally gotten over the last hup in their relationship - as time passed, Harry had to think farther and farther back to remember their last major fight. Any time Harry became quiet and reclusive, Ginny knew to give him a bit of space before applying gentle force to break him free of his thoughts. He quickly learned that (after a bit of alone time) talking to Ginny always relieved pressure from his chest. The first time he experience this wonderful feelig was late on a Friday night after he'd crawled into be next to her. As always, she'd spotted something wrong, that something was causing him stress, but mercifully she'd give him space. Now he was burning to talk.

"Gin?"

"Mmm?"

Harry frowned. She sounded so sleep and he didn't want to keep her up, but he didn't want to have to deal with her irritation in the morning if he waited. "Are you awake enough to talk about something?"

She turned over to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You know I'm always here for you, Harry." Indeed, she looked wide awake now despite the messy mane of orange hair that sprayed out over her pillow.

Unfortunately, talking was much harder now that he had to look at her; everything he'd planned to say evaporated off of his tongue. "I-I just wondered why you would challenge me to a duel. I mean, I'm not upset or anything, it just surprised me."

Ginny sighed heavily, as if she had been expecting the question for a while and hadn't been looking forward to it. Her arms slid off his shoulders and found their way around his waist, pulling him closer so she could lay her cheek on his shoulder, facing away from him. "I wanted to prove that I'm not helpless. After Hogsmeade, I realized just how far behind I am when it comes to you, Ron, and Hermione. I hate it when people-" she turned to give him a look "-think that they need to protect me, and I hate it even more when they're right." Her arms tightened around his waist, enough that Harry laced his fingers into her hair and ran through it to calm her.

"That's not what I heard from Rebecca. She seemed to think you took down three Death Eaters by yourself."

Instead of looking embarrassed or even proud, she looked on him with a mix of pain and terror. It was a long moment before she answered, and she did she wouldn't meet his eyes. "Did she tell you I incinerated one of them?" Her voice was barely audible. "I don't think he knew how to defend himself. He might have been under the Imperius. I know at least one of the ones I stopped was."

Harry knew from experience the best thing to do was let her words was over herself. He saw the familiar guilt and pain in her eyes, and then when they focused on him and she tried to slide away, he knew he had to say something.

"Have I ever told you about the first Death Eater I killed?" It pained him to talk of such things almost as much as her eyes widened. She shook her head slowly before he continued.

"We were on our way to get the fourth Horcrux, and the first one we had to seek out on our own. Unfortunately, Voldemort knew what we were up to, but he didn't know where we were or how much we knew. He sent inner circle Death Eaters to guard each of the Horcuxes - Bellatrix was first."

Ginny sucked in a breath, her situation forgotten for the moment. That tended to happen whenever Harry talked of the war. He didn't do it often, but she knew he was telling this as much for his sake as hers.

"Of course, the Order had no idea where we were - we never told them about the Horcuxes. To this day, only four living people know of them, and I'm shagging one of them."

They both grinned at eachother, lightening Harry's mood considerably. He hated morbid discussions about the war (especially seeing how they made Ginny feel), so anything to lighten the situation was welcome in his book.

"Anyway, we met her at the Riddle house in Little Hangleton." Harry shivered. "There were Death Eaters there, but we had no idea she was. I reckon if we figured it out before she started running, one of us would have killed her. Even without her fighting, it was ten against three, but we had the element of surprise and Ron." Harry smiled. "He may be daft most of the time, but your brother is a brilliant strategist. Helped us work through the odds more times than I can count." Ginny nodded and snuggled into his chest, waiting.

"We had four of them down before they knew we were there. We each took two of the others - they weren't all that bright. I had just finished stunning my second when I heard Ron scream." Harry shuddered again, his eyes falling shut and his arms unconsciously squeezing Ginny. "There are two things that can make Ron scream like a girl. Spiders and the Cruciatus."

Ginny pulled back and looked at him in horror. Ron had never once mentioned being put under an Unforgivable. As if sensing her doubts, Harry nodded. "He didn't want to worry your Mum, so Hermione and I agreed to keep quiet about it. Both him and Hermione have had Unforgivables used on them on more than one occasion." Ginny nodded again, reaching up to kiss away his obvious pain at the memories. Harry returned it for a moment, then slid a hand under her shirt and caressed the skin on her side. She smiled weekly and squeezed his waist as a sign for him to continue.

"Hermione heard it too - she took a cutting curse to the shoulder because of it. I left her to her Death Eater; she knew I'd take care of Ron. He'd already stunned one of his Eaters, but the other had him pinned under the Cruciatus. I should have just stunned him, but I hadn't ever had to see Ron like that before. Something snapped - I think before then I thought him and Hermione were invincible. I know you can't imagine it, but seeing him laid out like that, screaming, and probably wishing to die was terrifying. I went for the most violent curse I knew at the time - _Sectumsempra_."

Ginny squeezed him tighter, as much for her comfort as his. She'd never heard all that much about Ron's part in the war - it was always Harry or Hermione, either doing something amazing or finding clues to things. On top of that, it was hard to hear about all the terrible things Harry had done, even if she didn't blame him in the slightest. Her encounter with Lucius had taught her a hard lesson about war, and she knew if a Death Eater was torturing her brother like that, she'd probably end up in Azkaban for what she did.

"There was blood everywhere. I had no idea the curse was so powerful - apparently when I used it sixth year on Malfoy, I didn't use it right or something. I never found out the Death Eater's name, but I cut him into three pieces."

Ginny closed her eyes and buried her face into his chest against that mental image. Harry knew he might have shared too much, but he had to push through this and help her come to terms with the brutality of war.

"Ginny, war isn't pretty. I would give anything to keep you sheltered from it, but I know that I can't. I wish you had come and told me about this instead of keeping it inside - feeling like this is perfectly normal, and you won't feel better until you deal with it."

She nodded into him, taking a deep breath before responding. Her voice sounded so small - few things could scare Harry as much as seeing Ginny liek this. She was the most passionate, fiery person he'd ever knowing and whatever could take that fire out of her terrified him.

"I was afraid of what you would think. I thought you would look at me differently if you knew." Something about her tone told im that her fear wasn't gone.

"Gin, I love you no matter what you've done. You did what you had to do, and that's the end of it. Don't do what I did - I couldn't bear a year without you."

She shook her head, sniffing once but not crying. "I'm sorry I'm so weak, Harry. I know you need me to be strong, but sometimes I can't be. I understand if you want to leave me for someone like that."

_What? _"Ginny, I'm not leaving you. Not now, not ever."

She pulled away from his body, instead wrapping her arms around herself and curling up as much as she could. Harry could tell something was bothering her, and that he needed to show her that he was really committed to her. In a flash of insight, he realized that she was probably upset because he hadn't proposed yet - they'd talked about marriage enough, but he hadn't found the courage yet. He wanted everything to be exactly perfect, and he was terrified she wouldn't like it, but there was something he could do for the moment.

"Why don't we start looking for a place to live tomorrow?"

Her eyes snapped open and stared up at him in surprise. "Wh-What?"

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather not stay at Grimmauld Place for the rest of our lives. I want a place we can call ours."

Her jaw opened and shut slowly, but the fear of rejection was slowly fading from her eyes. "Ours?" She managed to squeak out.

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "Of course ours, Gin. Did you think that just because we have to leave Hogwarts for the summer means we can't live together?"

She didn't respond for a long time. Harry let her think; he recognized that lost look on her face that meant she was puzzling over something and making connections in her head. Finally, a small frown appeared on her face. "Mum and Dad won't like that idea. They don't know we're living together here."

Harry almost rolled his eyes, but he knew how much her family meant to her, and to be quite honest, him too. "You're eighteen and a half years old. They're going to have to get used to it some time, and I think they'd prefer me over a man they don't know."

"Are you implying that I'll be living with another man?"

Harry balked at the look she was giving him and wasn't quite sure what to say. "I'm not going to leave you, if that's what you're asking. Do you want me to?"

Her eyes narrowed at the last question and Harry knew he'd gone too far. "If you're not willing to make a commitment, then maybe you should."

Her considered for the briefest of moments storming out of the room to teach her a less., but if there was one thing he knew well, it was Ginny Weasley. This wouldn't break them up, but it could leave an emotional scar that Harry did not want to be responsible for.

"Gin, I love you and I am never going to leave you. I know you're insecure ecause I've waited this long to ask you to marry me, but I promise it has nothing to do with you. I just want it to be perfect."

For a moment Harry thought he was going to get slapped, but instead a single tear rolled down her cheek, which he leaned in to kiss away. Her voice was choked and sounded as if she was on the verge of sobbing.

"I-I'm sorry Harry, I should know not to doubt you, but I just get so scared sometimes, like I'm not good enough for you. You could have any girl in the world, even without being Harry Potter. I don't know why you love me so much, I-"

He cut her off with a kiss. At first she was reluctant to returning, but he finally drew it out of her. After sharing a calmly passionate moment, Harry pulled back and smiled. "Don't tell me ou can't feel that. I love the way you make me feel. You are something that's been missing from my life since before I can remember. I love Ron and Hermione, but there are things I can't share with them. They're the best friends I could ever ask for and I would give my life for them, but you're different. You make me want to live for you, and you give me hope for the future, no matter what is going on now."

Ginny nodded, no longer trusting her voice, instead snuggling into him and letting soft tears fall into his chest. The best thing about Harry was he understood, and he didn't try to make her talk, explain why she was still crying, and best of all, his arms were like her castle. She felt protected by them, and she could live in them forever.

------

The next day was spent looking for places to life. Harry didn't want to be too close to any wizarding towns, and Ginny brought up the idea of having lots of space for the kids to play in. Harry wasn't too sure about the kids part (to which Ginny pronounced him in denial), but they looked for larger tracts of land just the same. After a few hours of searching the _Prophet_ and other real estate sources, Harry mentioned building their own dream house if Ginny could design it, something that lit up the redhead like a Christmas tree. She immediately abandoned everything but pulling out a roll of parchment and concentrating on it to the exclusion of everything else. Harry found slight amusement in that, but he made sure to hang around so he could have input into the plans. The house had to have its own Quidditch pitch; not that Ginny objected to that at all.

The next few days seemed to be devoted to that roll of parchment - Ginny was either doing something for Madam Pomfrey, in the library researching, or coming up with new ways to put the house together. Harry even had a hard time to draw her away for some intimate moments together - something that initially worried him, but she'd laughed and told him that everything was all right and she was just absorbed by the her work. He wondered if the magical world had ever heard of a pencil - Ginny seemed to be using her wand with a vanishing spell on the tip of her wand as an eraser, and it seemed to be silly to go back and forth, but he didn't say anything. In some ways, wizards were still stuck in the nineteenth century, but it was part of the charm in Harry's estimation.

While Ginny worked, Harry was in contact with both muggle and wizarding real estate agents, searching for a plot of land that would hold their new home. He'd narrowed it down to about five places when Ginny announced that she wanted a completely new building that was away from the house to be used as a guest house and a library. Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Hermione had a hand in that, but the idea of having a large library appealed to him too. When asked about it, Ginny had simply said that she wanted guests to be welcome to stay there, and that she was going to need a lot of space for medical textbooks, and that Defense Professors were no slouches in the reading department either. The Black Library had been a touchy subject - Harry wanted to move it to their new residence, but Ginny had complained that the children would find it. Harry (grumbling that children weren't part of the equation) assured her that he would charm a secret room into the back of the library so they could keep more sensitive material back there. Ginny finally acquiesced to that request, but only after saying something about having sensitive material of her own. Harry laughed at that - she just didn't like losing.

Whether Ginny had told Hermione about their new house Harry never found out, but it seemed no one else knew, and that was fine with him. He loved surprising people, and if he could have the house ready by a few weeks into the summer (he made sure to use a magical construction company) and invite people to see it, that would be fantastic. Ginny supported this idea greatly, though she'd seemed a little disappointed about going back to live at the Burrow for a few weeks before the house was done.

The subject of marriage had come up a few times, but Harry kept assuring her that he was close to asking. It was a little odd the way they handled it because both of them knew they were going to wed, but Harry insisted on making it perfect. Ginny had said that the only thing wrong with it was making her wait, which convinced Harry to get a move on, but he had to wait until the next full moon. There had been a slight pang of loss when he thought of the full moon and what it meant to Remus, but he'd come to terms with the werewolf's death in the past year. Ginny was helping him through everything, and now that they were practicing Occlumency, there were a lot less things he was still feeling guilt and regret over.

A week longer and Ginny had finished the design for the house. It wasn't exact with measurements, of course, but she had a general idea what they both wanted and were happy with. They wound up telling Hermione about their plans (she'd been awestruck, but extremely happy for them) so that she could help with the actual dimensions and such. Harry had been a little hesitant to ask, but it seemed that his friend attacked it with the same vigor as a homework assignment, and her sense of order and organization made it natural for her to work everything out. A few days later, they called in an architect to look at the plans, who'd made a few changes and asked for clarifications, but all-in-all it was rather painless. This was the first time Harry actually made a dent in his Gringotts vault - Ginny had started to reconsider when she saw the amount of money involved, but Harry silenced her quickly and said that it was all right. The house would be there for the rest of their lives and it was something they would always have together. She'd melted and let him handle the finances after that, and the company seemed to be overjoyed to have Harry Potter's business, and even more overjoyed to be paid everything in one go. Harry didn't let Ginny in on exact numbers for her own protection.

The couple shared a nice dinner together in the great hall to celebrate, and after that they could be found strolling hand in hand back to Gryffindor tower, looking very content. Ever since Rebecca successfullly delivered her baby and the events of the tournament had been put behind them, Ginny had been more relaxed and well-rested, soemthing that had a significantly positive impact on her overall mood, which was helped by her housing project. Harry was happier simply because she was; the extra spring in her step and the lightness of her smile were like cheering charms for all of their effects on him.

They reached the Fat Lady without incident, though Harry gave Ginny a playful shove through the portrait hole and earned himself a glare. Once in their room, ginny had just started undressing for her shower when Harry wrapped his arms around her and stopped her.

"Why don't we go fly for a bit? It's nice outside and we don't need to be in bed just yet."

A broad smile crossed her lips as she turned toward him. "I thought you'd never ask." She kissed him briefly before pulling her brom from her trunk, admiring it once again. She'd never ridden a broom near this quality before Christmas, much less owned one, and even five months after receiving it she was still in awe. Harry was still of the opinion that his _Firebolt_ was better, but then again, his judgment would be a bit biased.

"You won't need your broom." Harry told her with a sly grin. She gave him a mystified look, but she set her boom back into its case. He moved toward the door with his _Firebolt_ in hand. "You can't get a good snog on separate brooms."

She laughed and give him a quick kiss as he led her out onto the grounds, mounting the boom farther back than usual and forming his body around hers as she mounted in front of him. His arms wrapped around her and held the handle, earning a reproachful look.

"I can fly, you know."

_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea._ Harry was having second thoughts when Ginny kicked off, wrapping her hands around his and pulling the broom up. It felt a little odd having someone else in conrol of his broom - it wasn't quite natural - but with Ginny it wasn't too unpleasant. He laid a kiss on the back of her neck, eliciting a soft smile and a relaxation of her shoulders.

Taking back control, Harry steered them over the Forbidden Forest, though Ginny handled most of the actual flight. His doubts slowly faded as he felt her body lean into him, and she even reached back over her shoulder to put a hand to his cheek affectionately. It wasn't cold out, but with the wind in their faces and the altitude Ginny was giving them, the wind felt pleasantly cool against their robes. After a while, Harry took full control of the broom, slowing them to a stop and whispering into her ear.

"You might get something special if you figure out how to turn around." There was a mischievous smile on his lips, one she would never be able to resist. They had a good laugh at the awkwardness of switching seating direction on a broom mid-flight, but it quickly faded into a deep, passionate kiss. They wasted no time before exploring each other's mouths, though by now they were as familiar as their own. Ginny's hands slipped inside of his robes, causing Harry to grip her wrist to keep her hand from roaming any farther. She was dangerously close to the inside pocket of his robes.

"Ginny?"

She looked straight into his eyes, no doubt sensing there was something important he wanted to say. Her smile mirrored his, her eyes unable to leave his loving gaze. She loved that look - she knew it meant he was thinking about her and only her, and that nothing else in the world mattered to him.

"I just want you to know how much I love you. I remember the first time we kiss - it was like waking from a nightmare I didn't know I was in. During the war, I longed for you to be there with me, and I couldn't stand being separated from you. I thought about you ever single day. There were times I wanted to be able to come get you, to kidnappy from Hogwarts and keep you with me and safe by my side. I needed you, but I knew you were safe. I knew I couldn't have protected you forever had you been with me, but I hated being without you. It nearly killed me."

Ginny wondered why he was telling her all of this now; she'd heard it all before in their long nights talking in bed, but never all at once, and never this emotional. But he wasn't depressed like she might have expected - in fact, he looked quite happy. she smiled broadly in spite of everything - his happiness was infectious. His purpose and source of his feelings became clear as he reached past her hand and pulled out a small black box. She was suddenly aware of everything around her - the soft wind that ran through her hair, the moonlight that beamed down from the cloudless sky and illuminated her lover's face, his hand clasping hers, his lips forming the words she'd waited almost nineteen years to hear.

"I never want to be without you again. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, to never be alone, to always be there for you, and know that you're here for me. I hated hiding from you, denying my love for you, letting you think I left you. I didn't let myself believe it, but my heart never strayed from you. I love you, Ginny. I always have and I always will." He took a breath as tears sparkled in her eyes, giving the chestnut brown a happiness that couldn't readily be described. Her smile was blinding as he opened the box to reveal a beautiful gold ring set with emeralds.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, I love you with all of my heart, and I never want to be alone or without you ever again. Will you marry me?"

She could do nothing but throw her arms around his neck and squeal. "Yes!" I t was a good thing Harry was an excellent seeker or he would have dropped the ring. As it was, he held the box against her back as he wrapped her in his arms, holding her as she leaned into another deeply passionate kiss. It was a long while before she would let him go, but eventually she pulled back and reached around him for the ring.

"It's beautiful..." She'd never seen anything like it. The ring itself was a flawless gold, but it was nothing compared to the emerald. The green stone flashed in the moonlight, looking every bit the color of Harry's eyes she desperately loved.

"It was my mother's engagement ring - that was what she gave me back at Christmas. Dumbledore found it and gave it to my aunt because he thought it would hold family value." Harry pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. "He was right - it means everything to _my _family."

Her eyes met his in an earthly clash of green and brown, her smile widening impossibly. She stared down at the ring in appreciation, even though she had to admit it was nothing like she'd expected. It was something much more than that, something better than even her most fanciful dreams. Her heart melted for the second time that night, reaching up and holding his cheek in the palm of her newly adorned hand. She could tell the confidence he'd had was gone, and the nerve he'd been working up from the first day he met her disappeared. What remained was the Harry she loved, the shy, innocent, thoughtful, but extremely passionate Harry Potter few people knew. The purity of his unconditional love was something she could never hope to understand, but she didn't need to anymore. She simply accepted it, and returned it as best she could.

"I love it almost as much as I love you, Harry." She smiled and kissed him again, assuring him it was perfect. It was a good thing too, because she could feel his hands still shaking slightly in nervousness as they found her hips. Her eyes fluttered shut as she fell into the man she loved, a calmly passionate exterior barely containing her burning desire for him. He got the picture when she pushed hi m back on the broom and attempted to climb on top of him, forcing him to wrap his legs around the handle behind her to keep his balance and to stop her with his quiet voice. It was a good thing they were both amazing flyers.

"Gin...I don't think this is such a good idea..."

She looked won at him, pouting as her hair fell across his face. He'd seen that look before, but this time it brought a smile. "Trust me, you'll get more than you could ever want when we get back to the castle." His eyes sparkled in a way that was not too unlike the late Albus Dumbledore.

Ginny immediately brightened and returned his devilish smile. "I better, Potter, or you're going to hear about it all night."

Harry winked, his grin broadening. "Something tells me I'll _hear_ about it all night either way."

_I've corrupted him,_ Ginny thought as she kissed his neck and backed off to let him sit up, her smile never fading. _And I wouldn't have it any other way._

_------_

_**A/N:** Yes, yes, I'm sorry about taking forever to update and producing a short chapter (I do have a new one-shot posted if you like HarryGinny fluff - link is on my profile page. Shameless plug, I know), but RL got in the way again. The good news is I only have to type up the epilogue, which is short and should be up tomorrow. Look for that and final author's notes with it, as well as a clue to my next project if you're interested._


	23. Epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

_Some months later..._

Everything had gone perfectly. The wedding had been brilliant, the entire Weasley family and almost all of the Order had attended, and the bride and groom couldn't have been happier. Today gave the phrase "Their special day" a whole new meaning. Ginny had gone around to everyone she could find and went on about being Mrs. Potter, and Harry had a permanent goofy grin attached to his face the whole afternoon.

But none of that mattered now as the newlyweds lay in bed after a long day, both still glowing in happiness. Harry had his arms wrapped around his new wife as she snuggled her back into his chest, both of them still nude from post-marital activities. Ginny loved the feel of his body wrapped around hers like this, with nothing between them, and Harry had confessed rather reluctantly that he enjoyed it too. She could feel his gentle breath on his neck, but neither of them was anywhere close to sleep - they didn't want the day to end. Ginny smiled to herself and brought his hand up to her lips to kiss his knuckles gently before whispering in a honey-sweet tone.

"Harry?"

It took him a moment to answer, but she finally felt his chest vibrate gently as he replied. "Yes, my love?"

She giggled softly, rolling her eyes to her self. "Since when have you called me that?"

Harry rubbed his nose into her neck from side to side. "I don't know, it just sounded nice."

They both knew that Harry didn't have a romantic bone in his body - at least, not in the conventional sense. He showed her how much he loved her in all sorts of different ways, but it almost never seemed to happen with roses, candlelight dinners, and affectionate nicknames. At least, not on a regular basis. Not that she minded; it was quite the opposite. She found his expression of love to be perfect for her - he did the romantic things every once in a while to make her feel special, but she never felt as though it was overbearing. No, he just showed his love for her in small ways every day, and that was perfect.

Now, however, she had a surprise for him that would be a constant reminder every minute of how much she loved him. She kissed his hand again, smiling and letting her eyes fall shut as her lips formed the words she'd been thinking about since they'd slipped into bed together.

"I've got a present for you, lover-boy." She giggled again, giddy both from the wedding and her surprise. She felt his body curl into her in interest, and she leaned her head back to let his tongue have its way with her neck.

"And what might that be, sweetums?"

That was too much. Ginny burst out laughing, her shoulders rubbing against his chest even as she felt his mirth coming from behind her. "Where did you ever learn that?"

Harry took a moment to calm his laughter. "I heard my aunt call Dudley that all the time. I think it irritated him more than anything."

Ginny grinned at the thought, and then turned over to look into his eyes and take a long whiff of his manly scent. It grounded her enough to keep her from giggling again, but there was still a sparkle in her eyes and a soft smile on her lips as she guided his hand down to her stomach.

"Not what, but who, my love."

She'd never seen his eyes so big. His jaw opened and closed twice, and his gaze traveled down to her stomach before returning to his face and searching for her sudden laughter that would spoil the joke, but there was none.

"Are...are you sure?"

Ginny smiled and brushed his lips softly, the tip of her nose nudging his. "I'm sure, Harry. It was meant to be."

Harry took a moment to regain his train of thought. There was only one night this could have happened, and that was their engagement night. Ginny had convinced him to leave off the Contraceptive Charm for one night, saying that if it was meant to be, it would happen, and if it wasn't, it wouldn't. He'd never in his wildest dreams thought it would actually happen, but now that it had, he felt as though he'd been waiting for it his entire life.

"I...I don't know what to say."

Ginny might have been concerned at this comment, but his joy was apparent in his eyes. She could see his heart dancing at the news even though his brain was telling him that he wouldn't be a good father and that he was way too young. "Harry, you'll be a wonderful father. We are a little young, but we are definitely old enough to handle this."

He nodded mutely, taking another moment to collect his thoughts before he leaned into another kiss, this one lasting quite a bit longer as she poured reassurance into him. She'd had a bit longer to think about this and decide that they were ready, and despite her being only nineteen, they were ready to settle down and have a family. It was the one thing both of them wanted above all other, and even though Harry (and truth be told, Ginny too) was scared to death of the idea, they would make it work.

"We're...we're going to have a baby..." It came off his tongue as if he was speaking a foreign language. He still looked rather shell-shocked, but at least he wasn't in denial. Ginny grinned and shook her head, the sparkle in her eyes dancing like mad.

"Not quite true."

Harry blinked, obviously not comprehending. "But you just said..."

Ginny shook her head, drawing a deep breath as she pressed his hand to her stomach. "Harry, we're not having a baby. We're having twins."

------

_**A/N: **__Okay, a short little epilogue to tie things up and set for a sequel should I decide to write it. I hope you all have enjoyed this story as much as I have, and I do hope everyone who has read it (whether you've reviewed before or not) will let me know how they liked it and critique if you so desire. This was my first fanfic and will always hold a special place in my heart, but it's time to move on to other things and put the lessons I've learned in writing this to work._

_Wow...this is weird. I just realized when I post this, I'll be adding the complete tag to it. This feels amazing._

_I would be remiss if I didn't thank a few people who helped this happen. Greg, thanks for your input and insight on some of the final chapters – without you this could have been a disaster from 18 on. I'd also like to thank my consistent reviewers – ya'll along with my passion for writing is what made this story go. I would put your names here, but I'm deathly afraid of missing someone and that just wouldn't be right._

_As for my next project, I'm going to commit canoncide and go to an AU universe after Chamber of Secrets. It's going to be another HarryGinny fic, but with one difference – Ginny doesn't get over her first year as well as JKR writes, and what happens when she turns to Harry for help and the two become magically bonded due to their growing relationship? It's going to be an exploration into their relationship at Hogwarts and how they could have come together if they'd only known each other earlier._

_Anyway, you should see that no later than two weeks from today, though I'm working to get it out as soon as possible. If you want an alert when I put it up, you can either put me on author alert here, or you can friend me on LiveJournal (link is in profile). Until then, happy reading and may your days be blessed by Felix Felicis!_


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